MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell and Liaoning Bora Enterprise Group have commenced operations at their 1.1-million metric tons/year ethylene plant and associated polyolefins complex at Panjin in Liaoning Province, northeastern China, reported Chemweek.
The cost of the project is approximately USD2.6 billion.
The two companies in September 2019 established a 50/50 joint venture (JV), Bora LyondellBasell Petrochemical Co., for the project.
The ethylene plant has the flexibility to consume naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas. The downstream complex includes units producing 800,000 metric tons/year of polyethylene (PE) and 600,000 metric tons/year of polypropylene (PP) using LyondellBasell’s Hostalen ACP PE technology and the company’s Spheripol and Spherizone PP processes.
The complex will supply the packaging, transportation, building and construction, and healthcare and hygiene industries. The materials produced at the facility will be sold for use within China.
The two companies are planning medium-to-long-term collaboration on additional petchem projects that could be deployed in multiple phases over the next 10 years.
"The northeast is on the forefront of China's next round of regional revitalization. It is an attractive destination for investment, with abundant natural resources, upgraded infrastructure, and improving business environment, supported by the government's long-term development vision," says Qu Baoxue, the controlling shareholder of Bora.
Demand for polyolefins "has returned in China after the pandemic-related economic slowdown earlier in the year, and the long-term growth trends are very favorable for this project," says Bob Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell. "We look forward to potential future opportunities that would allow us to expand our local manufacturing footprint."
The Bora LyondellBasell Petrochemical ethylene plant is one of four steam crackers scheduled to start up in China by the end of this year.
According to IHS Markit, Asia is the largest and fastest-growing polyolefins market in the world. China accounts for more than 60% of the Asian polyolefins market and represents 40% of worldwide polyolefins growth.
As MRC informed earlier, LyondellBasell has already invests in several chemical plants in China, including a joint venture with a unit of state refiner Sinopec Corp.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
Bora is one of more than 40 independent Chinese refiners that have grown rapidly since late 2015 to account for a fifth of China’s total crude oil imports.
LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC