BEIJING�China's Yangzi Petrochemical Corp., a unit of state-owned China Petrochemical Corp., has started an expansion of its naphtha cracker in East China's Jiangsu province.
The expansion, begun in late April and slated for completion in third quarter 2002, will raise capacity to 650,000 tonnes/year from 400,000 tonnes/year. The project will cost 4.4 billion yuan, of which 2.6 billion will come from bank loans.
Included in the project are three other expansions. Polypropylene capacity will increase to 360,000 tonnes/year from 200,000 tonnes/year, polyethylene capacity to 350,000 tonnes/year from 160,000 tonnes/year, and butadiene capacity to 200,000 tonnes/year from 100,000 tonnes/year.
In November, Yangzi Petrochemical signed an engineering contract with units of ABB Lummus Co. of the US and Toyo Engineering Corp. of Japan for the expansion. That same month, Yangzi Petrochemical signed a memorandum of understanding with Germany's BASF AG for the joint construction of a $2.7 billion, 600,000 tonne/year greenfield ethylene cracker. The BASF project will include a 400,000 tonne/year, low-density polyethylene unit.
