Sinopec to expand fuel and ethylene production

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the nation’s biggest oil refiner, plans to expand the capacity of its largest crude-oil processing plant 15% by next September to boost production of ethylene and fuels. Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co.’s annual capacity will rise to 23 million metric tons, about 460,000 barrels a day, from 20 million tons, China Petrochemical Corp. said in its company newsletter Sinopecnews. China Petrochemical is the parent of Sinopec, as Zhenhai-operator China Petroleum is known, Bloomberg News reported. China, which imports half of its ethylene needs, aims to more than double production capacity to 18.13 million tons by 2010. The Zhenhai plant in eastern China will process an estimated 19.5 million tons of crude oil this year, accounting for 12% of Sinopec’s total and 6% of the oil refined in the country, China Petrochemical said. Sinopec is expanding capacity at the refinery to supply raw materials to a 1-million-ton-a-year ethylene plant, according to the statement. (May 6, 2008)