Sinopec strengthens the ‘two wings’ of refining and chemicals for high-end upgrading
- Zhenhai now forms an integrated base with 40 million t/yr refining scale and 2.5 million t/yr ethylene after adding 11 million t/yr refining and 1.2 million t/yr ethylene projects.
- During the 14th Five‑Year Plan, 2.8 million t/yr of refining capacity was withdrawn and all refining units below 2 million t/yr were retired.
- Sinopec’s RTC technology has been deployed to six industrial units with combined processing capacity of 17.4 million t/yr, and Anqing’s 3 million t/yr RTC unit produced over 1 million tonnes of propylene, C4 and aromatics.
- Cumulative 14th Five‑Year Plan sales of high‑end specialty oil products reached 1.05 million tonnes; high‑end carbon material sales include 890,000 t pre‑calcined needle coke, 2.055 million t anode coke and 3.093 million t low‑emission anode coke.
Integrated bases and regional clusters
Sinopec is concentrating refining and chemical capacity into base‑oriented, integrated sites to support regional industry chains. Zhenhai now combines a 40 million t/yr refining scale with 2.5 million t/yr ethylene after commissioning 11 million t/yr refining and 1.2 million t/yr ethylene projects; Tianjin Petrochemical expanded to 16 million t/yr refining with a 1.2 million t/yr ethylene cluster; Gulei formed a 2 million t ethylene and aromatics base. These integrated projects drive downstream clusters in logistics, equipment manufacturing and fine chemicals while the company withdrew 2.8 million t/yr of small refining capacity and retired all units below 2 million t/yr during the 14th Five‑Year Plan.
Oil‑to‑chemicals and high‑end materials
Sinopec is converting refineries to chemical‑oriented operations and scaling ethylene and derivative capacity. Its RTC heavy‑oil cracking is in six units (17.4 million t/yr total); Anqing’s 3 million t/yr RTC processed over 1 million tonnes of propylene, C4 and aromatics. Projects include high‑purity 4M1P production, a 180,000 t/yr liquid methionine unit, a 200,000 t/yr LAO unit, a 100,000 t/yr POE unit and a 500,000 t/yr HDPE unit, plus large aromatics and PTA builds such as a 1.6 million t/yr PX and 3 million t/yr PTA single unit.
Specialty oils and high‑end carbon materials
Specialty oils and carbon products are being scaled to serve new‑tech fields. Jingmen exported cosmetic‑grade white oil to Southeast Asia; cumulative high‑end specialty oil sales reached 1.05 million tonnes in the 14th Five‑Year Plan. Jinling and others developed needle coke and calcined products to support ultra‑high‑power graphite electrodes and battery anodes. Cumulative sales of pre‑calcined oil‑based needle coke, anode coke and low‑emission anode coke reached 890,000 t, 2.055 million t and 3.093 million t respectively, while green coal‑chemical and hydrogen projects aim to cut carbon by 1.22 million t/yr in demonstration deployments.
Source: Sinopec