China - July 11, 2024

Small Chinese fishing village grows to green petrochemical base

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In east China's Zhejiang Province, Yushan Island has emerged as a pioneering hub in the petrochemical sector.

Petrochemicals are chemicals derived directly from crude oil. In conventional refining processes, crude is transformed into different factions, but crude-to chemical technology bypasses this process, which uses less energy, and emits fewer CO2 emissions.

Nestled off the coast of Zhoushan City, the island, formerly a quiet fishing village, is now home to the world's second offshore green petrochemical base.

With a total investment of more than 34 billion U.S. dollars, the facility has an annual production capacity of 40 million tons, and leads the nation in oil refining and ethylene, and arene production.

Plus, its proximity to the Nigbo Zhoushan Port made it easy to secure construction equipment to build the mammoth facility in a mere five years.

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Liu Minghui, President, Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical Co., Ltd.:

"It's located near the Ningbo Zhoushan Port, which facilitates crude oil imports. Moreover, transporting large equipment is also straightforward, we can bring in equipment weighing several thousand tons."

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Liu Minghui, President, Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical Co., Ltd.:

"We began construction on July 1, 2017. Phase one was operational by May 20, 2019, and phase two was put into operation in January 2022. During the peak period, there were over 80,000 workers on-site."

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Last year, crude oil processing capacity at the base surged to 43.7 million tons, with the total import and export value hitting nearly 30 billion U.S. dollars.

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