Sinopec Yangzi to boost paraxylene capacity

Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical Co, a unit of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), plans to boost its annual paraxylene capacity to 1.2 million tons in 2010 from 800,000 tons currently, Sinopec Group said. Yangzi Petrochemical, which is based in Nanjing in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, will become China’s largest paraxylene (PX) producer after the expansion, it said. China’s paraxylene demand is being driven by rising consumption of synthetic materials. PetroChina unit Urumqi PetroChemical Co. received government approval at the end of last year to invest CNY3.87 billion (US$407 million) on a paraxylene expansion project in the northwestern Xinjiang region. (July 19, 2007)