China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec) and joint-venture partner Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) have let an additional contract to Kaji Technology Corp. of Japan to supply equipment for the long-planned Sino-Kuwait integrated refining and petrochemical complex now under construction on Donghai Island of Zhanjiang City in China’s Guangdong Province (OGJ Online, Aug. 11, 2009).
Kaji will deliver three reciprocating compressors to be used for hydrogen gas service for the project’s 750,000-tonne/year polypropylene plant, which will be equipped with process technology from LyondellBasell Industries NV, Kaji said.
Sinopec and KPC previously let a contract to Kaji to deliver a reciprocating compressor to accommodate high-pressure nitrogen gas service for an ethylene vinyl acetate production plant at the planned complex, for which Sinopec Engineering Inc. is providing overall engineering, procurement, and construction services (OGJ Online, Nov. 10, 2017).
Originally planned as a $9-billion complex that would be able to process 15 million tpy of crude as well as 1 million tpy of ethylene, 460,000 tpy of polyethylene, and 750,000 tpy of polypropylene beginning in 2016, the delayed project’s $5.1-billion first phase—which began construction on Dec. 20, 2016—will include a 10 million-tpy refinery and 800,000-tpy ethylene plant scheduled for startup in 2020, the government of Zhanjiang said in March 2017.
With previous shareholders including Total SA, Dow Chemical Co., and Royal Dutch Shell PLC now no longer attached to the project, the Sino-Kuwait integrated complex—which is designed to process Kuwaiti crude—will be jointly held and operated on a 50-50 basis by Sinopec and KPC, the Zhanjiang government said (OGJ Online, Mar. 13, 2012; May 14, 2009).
Sinopec and KPC have yet to reveal details regarding a timeline for the project’s second phase.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
