China’s annual CTO and MTO capacity to reach 15 million metric tons by 2020

Yue Guo, vice-president of China Shenhua Coal-to-Liquid and Chemical Co., Ltd. announced that about 15 million metric tons will be added to China’s annual capacity of coal-to-olefin (CTO) and methanol-to-olefin (MTO). The additional production will come from projects that are currently under construction, which would be put into operation by 2020 at the latest.
He explained that because coal and methanol are cheap, olefin products made from coal and methanol cost less than olefin products made from naphtha. Consequently, some believe that the new CTO and MTO capacity would weigh considerably on the profits of PetroChina and Sinopec. Both companies produce olefin products through naphtha cracking.
In 2011, the country’s output of ethylene reached 15.53 million metric tons and propylene output was 14.68 million metric tons. (December 10, 2012)