Royal Dutch Shell PLC subsidiary Shell Nanhai BV and China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) have started up new units to complete the Phase 2 expansion of their 50-50 joint venture CNOOC & Shell Petrochemicals Co. Ltd.’s (CSPC) petrochemical complex in Daya Bay Economic & Technological Development Zone, Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, China (OGJ Online, May 2, 2018).
Newly commissioned installations include China’s largest styrene monomer and propylene oxide (SMPO), which—equipped with Shell’s proprietary SMPO process technology—produce up to 630,000 tonnes/year of styrene monomer and 300,000 tpy of propylene oxide, as well as three additional units that—using Shell’s advanced Polyols technologies for the first time in China—process propylene oxide into as much as 600,000 tpy of polyols for performance products such as coatings, adhesives, sealants, elastomers, and foams used in bedding, furniture, and cars, Shell said on Apr. 14.
Preceded by commissioning of a 1.2-million tpy ethylene cracker—the site’s second—in 2018, startup of the remaining Phase 2 units enables CSPC’s complex to supply customers with up to 6 million tpy of high-quality intermediate and performance chemicals, including polyols, ethylene, glycol, polyethylene, and polypropylene, according to the company.
Shell also confirmed plans also are under way to proceed with a previously proposed Phase 3 expansion at the Huizhou complex, which would include construction of a new 1.5-million tpy ethylene cracker equipped with Shell’s proprietary advanced linear alpha olefin technology (OGJ Online, May 18, 2020).
Following a 2020 memorandum of understanding with CNOOC, Shell said the JV partners also are exploring the addition of a commercial-scale polycarbonate production unit at the CSPC complex.
Ongoing expansion of their CSPC JV comes as part of both CNOOC and Shell’s strategy of collaborating to expand China’s petrochemicals industry as well as their goal of supplying essential and premium chemical products to the region.
