CNOOC lets contract for Ningbo integrated refining complex

China National Offshore Oil Corp. subsidiary CNOOC Ningbo Daxie Petrochemical Co. Ltd. has let a contract to CB&I, Houston, to deliver technology licensing and design for a grassroots polypropylene plant at its refining and petrochemical complex in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China.

CB&I will provide process design engineering as well as licensing of its proprietary Novolen gas-phase polypropylene process technology for the new 300,000-tonne/year unit, CB&I said.

As part of the order, CB&I also will supply its proprietary Novolen high-performance catalyst for the unit, which will produce a full range of polypropylene products with a focus on high-end copolymers, according to the service provider.

CB&I did not disclose a value or duration of the contract.

In July 2016, CNOOC Ningbo Daxie Petrochemical completed a nearly $2-billion modernization and upgrading program at the complex to lift overall crude processing capacity at the site to 7 million tpy, according to reports from local Chinese media outlets.

Originally known as the distillation integrated utilization project, the revamp intended to boost refining capacity at the site to 8 million tpy, according to documents from CNOOC and the Daxie state-level development zone.

Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].