Operating 26 refineries and petrochemical enterprises mainly sited in northeast and northwest China, CNPC boasts a primary crude processing capacity of over 160 million tons and ethylene productivity of over 5 million tons per year. In 2019, we processed 168.44 million tons of crude and produced 119.13 million tons of refined products and 5.86 million tons of ethylene domestically.
We produce refined products, lube oil, and trademarked chemical products. We also operate overseas joint venture refineries in Kazakhstan, Chad, Niger, UK, France, Japan, and Singapore.
Large refining and chemical production bases
CNPC is one of China's largest manufacturers/suppliers of chemical products in six categories, i.e. synthetic resin, synthetic fiber, synthetic rubber, urea, organic/inorganic chemical products and raw materials. We serve customers from different sectors including light industry, textile, automobiles, building materials, electronics, tourism, food processing, pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals, etc.
By the end of 2019, we had seven large integrated refining-petrochemical complexes and eleven 10Mt/a refineries. Meanwhile, three 1Mt/a-scale ethylene production bases are located at Dushanzi Petrochemical, Daqing Petrochemical and Fushun Petrochemical respectively. A number of production facilities for special chemicals have been established, including Daqing Oilfield's chemical unit, Fushun Petrochemical's paraffin & alkyl benzene unit, Jilin Petrochemical's fine chemicals unit, and Liaoyang Petrochemical's aromatic hydrocarbon unit.
Sichuan Petrochemical's Integrated Refining/Petrochemical Project
The project comprises a 10Mt/a atmospheric/vacuum distillation unit, a 3Mt/a residue hydrodesulfurization unit, a 2.2Mt/a wax oil hydrocracking unit, a 3.5 Mt/a diesel hydrotreating unit, a 2.5Mt/a heavy oil catalytic cracking unit, a 600kt/a gas fractionation unit, a 170kt/a MTBE unit, an integrated 2Mt/a continuous reforming + 600kt/a PX unit, a 65kt/a butene unit and a 300kt/a polypropylene unit. Launched in 2009, the project went on stream in 2013, and is capable of processing 10 million tons of crude and producing 800,000 tons of ethylene every year.
10Mt/a Refining and 1Mt/a Ethylene Project at Dushanzi Petrochemical
As one of the largest integrated refining and chemical plants in China, Dushanzi Petrochemical is capable of processing 10 million tons of crude and producing 1.22 million tons of ethylene a year, which is comprised of nine refining units and 12 chemical plants. On September 21, 2009, the entire units became operational.
10 Mt/a Refining Project at Guangxi Petrochemical
Guangxi Petrochemical is the first large-scale refining base built by CNPC in southern China, mainly including more than 24 sets of production facilities including a 10 Mt/a atmospheric-vacuum distillation unit, a 3.5 Mt/a heavy catalytic cracking unit, a 2.2 Mt/a continuous reforming unit, a 2.2 Mt/a wax oil hydrogenation cracking unit, and auxiliary projects such as utilities, tank farms, dock and railway.
In November 2007, Guangxi Petrochemical's 10 Mt/a refining project was launched in Qinzhou. JEC, IPMT, ICMT and SPOM models were adopted in project design, engineering construction, operation commencement and production process respectively, which dramatically improved engineering quality and management efficiency.
The company's excellent management and operation is highly recognized by the International Project Management Association (IPMA) and won the Gold Award of Project Excellence in Mega-Sized Projects at the 27th IPMA World Congress in October 2013.
10Mt/a Refining Base at Dalian Petrochemical
As the largest crude processing base of China, Dalian Petrochemical has a primary processing capacity up to 20.5 million tons per annum. The company offers a wide variety of products including gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, paraffin, benzenes, polypropylene and EPS. Equipped with state-of-the-art automated systems, the production facilities are DCS-controlled. The company also boasts the first gasoline blending & movement automation system in China and the Manufacture Execution System (MES) for refining and chemical production as well as the Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) system.
Dalian Petrochemical is also one of CNPC's major bases for export and transit shipment of petroleum products with an annual throughput capacity of 23 million tons through five wharfs and well-established ocean shipping and land transportation facilities. The 10kt/d reclaimed water treatment plant, the 5kt/d seawater desalination plant and the oil-gas recovery plant in operation can produce 15,500 metric tons of industrial freshwater from seawater and reclaimed water every day to cut down the yearly tap water consumption by 1.7 million tons.
10Mt/a Refining Base at Lanzhou Petrochemical
Lanzhou Petrochemical is the first large-scale refining base in West China that is constructed with a 10Mt/a refining capacity and 700kt/a ethylene production capacity. The company has a primary crude processing capacity of 10.5 million tons per annum with a compatible secondary processing capacity, all powered by the leading refining/chemical processing techniques in China.
Lanzhou Petrochemical has 90-plus production installations for gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel and lube oil base stock, etc. In addition to key chemical products like ethylene and synthetic ammonia, the company can produce a wide range of 400 specifications (grades) of petrochemical products, including synthetic resin, synthetic rubber, polypropylene, fertilizer, catalytic cracking catalyst, fine chemicals and organic agents, etc.
Ningxia Petrochemical's 5Mt/a Refining Project
Ningxia Petrochemical's 5Mt/a refining project is an important part of the industrial belt along the Western Pipeline. It includes the reconstruction and upgrading of a 5Mt/a atmospheric distillation unit, a 2.6Mt/a catalytic cracking unit, a 600kt/a continuous reforming unit, a 100kt/a PP unit, and eight other units, as well as ancillary facilities. Construction of the project commenced in December, 2009 and trial production began in December, 2011.
Chemical Products Base at Daqing Oilfield
Daqing Refining & Chemicals Co., Ltd is incorporated in order to meet the needs for chemicals used in tertiary oil recovery. Since its launch, Daqing Refining & Chemicals has developed nearly 10 polyacrylamide products with an annual production capacity of 100,000 metric tons. These products are now widely used in Xinjiang and Liaohe oilfields as well as in the pharmaceutical, coal and mining sectors.
Aromatic Hydrocarbon Complex at Urumqi Petrochemical
The aromatic hydrocarbon complex at Urumqi Petrochemical is composed of a 800kt/a naphtha hydrogenation unit, a 1Mt/a continuous reforming unit, a 700 kt/a aromatic hydrocarbon extraction unit, a 1.8Mt/a disproportionate unit, a 4.3Mt/a adsorptive separation unit, a 3.3Mt/a isomerization unit, a 4.9Mt/a xylene distillation unit, and a 70,000 cum/hr hydrogen purification unit. The 1Mt/a PX unit is among the world's largest ones.
Paraffin and Alkyl Benzene Production Base at Fushun Petrochemical
CNPC is the largest paraffin manufacturer in China, delivering about 70% of China's total paraffin products. Fushun Petrochemical of CNPC, capable of producing 300 grades of petrochemical products, is one of the world's important production bases for paraffin and alkyl benzene.
Fushun Petrochemical has 76 production installations with a primary and secondary crude processing capacity up to 11.5 million tons per annum and its annual output of gasoline, kerosene and diesel fuel reaches over 6 million tons. The company produces 3.6 million tons of chemicals each year, including ethylene, alkyl benzene, polystyrene, acrylonitrile and wax products.
Aromatic Hydrocarbon Production Base at Liaoyang Petrochemical
Liaoyang Petrochemical is one of China's leading Russian-sourced crude processors and aromatic hydrocarbon manufacturers. The company is equipped with 58 large-scale refining and chemical processing installations, including a 200kt/a ethylene unit, a 70kt/a polyethylene unit, a 50kt/a polypropylene unit and a 200kt/a glycol unit.
The hydrogenation plant is capable of carrying out hydrocracking, hydrofining and delayed coking processes. It can supply over 5.3 million tons of high-grade diesel fuel to market every year while providing sufficient industrial chemicals for downstream operations. Meanwhile, as a major manufacturer of aromatic hydrocarbon and its derivatives in China, the company produces 700,000 metric tons of paraxylene, 400,000 metric tons of benzene, 60,000 metric tons of orthoxylene, 800,000 metric tons of PTA and 140,000 metric tons of adipic acid every year.
On the basis of its existing 9 Mt/a capacity, Liaoyang Petrochemical revamped five existing units and newly built 11 instillations for residual hydrogenation and catalytic cracking to ensure the highly efficient use of Russian crude oil. The project became operational in September 2018 with a capacity to produce 2.6 million tons of gasoline and 3.3 million tons of diesel fuels per year. The project has contributed to a diesel-gasoline ratio down to 1.27, which can be further reduced to 1.06 by an increase in jet fuel output, and achieved a 570,000-ton increase in aromatic hydrocarbon production, with the technical indicators and energy efficiency further improved.
Aksu Fertilizer Project
As the largest natural gas deep processing project in southern Xinjiang, the Aksu Fertilizer Plant comprises a 450kt/a synthetic ammonia unit, an 800kt/a urea unit and auxiliary facilities. Breaking ground in October 2012, the project was expected to be completed in 2015 to provide synthetic ammonia and urea products to surrounding areas.
Tarim Fertilizer Project
The Tarim fertilizer project is one of China's biggest land-based modern fertilizer plants in terms of production capacity per single unit. It is designed to produce 450,000 tons of synthetic ammonia and 800,000 tons of urea. Construction of the project started on September 20, 2007 and it was completed and became operational on July 14, 2010. Under full load, the project can produce 2,640 tons of urea per day, meeting demand for SGU in southern Xinjiang.
Joint Refinery & Chemical Plant
Dalian West Pacific Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (WEPEC)
Dalian West Pacific Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (WEPEC) is a joint venture refinery of PetroChina, a holding company of CNPC, and Dalian Construction Investment.
WEPEC became operational at the end of 1997 with a primary crude processing capacity of 10 million tons per annum. The company currently has 18 state-of-the-art production installations mainly designed for high-sulfur crude processing, offering a range of products covering 30 grades from 10 categories, including 90#, 93#, 95#, 97# unleaded gasoline, -20#, -10#, 0#, 5# light diesel oil, aviation kerosene, lamp kerosene, naphtha, fuel oil, LPG, polypropylene, sulfur, 70# and 90# high-grade paving asphalt and modified asphalt, etc. All the products are hydrofining processed and sold in China as well as a dozen of countries and regions including Japan, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippine and Vietnam.
Guangdong Petrochemical's 20Mt/a Heavy Oil Processing Project
Guangdong Petrochemical's 20Mt/a Heavy Oil Processing Project is a joint venture between CNPC and PDVSA of Venezuela. Managed and operated under a shareholding system, the project represents the first downstream project under the integrated energy cooperation agreement between China and Venezuela.
CNPC's proprietary delayed coking technology is introduced to process extra heavy oil from Venezuela. Once the JV becomes operational, the produced gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel products will be in compliance with the Euro IV emission standards, or even the Euro V standards.
Overseas
CNPC operates overseas joint venture refineries in Kazakhstan, Chad, Niger, UK, France, Japan, and Singapore.
Shymkent Refinery in Kazakhstan
Shymkent Refinery is located in the south of Kazakhstan and put into operation in 1984. It is one of the top three refineries in Kazakhstan, with a designed processing capacity of 6 million tons per annum.
CNPC acquired PetroKazakhstan in 2005 and became one of the two substantial shareholders of Shymkent Refinery. CNPC and KazMunayGaz each have 50% stakes in Shymkent Refinery.
Shymkent Refinery mainly deals with crude oil from Siberia and Kazakhstan with a level of processing of 59%. Its products include A-76, АИ-93, АИ-95, and А-80 gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil, LPG and jet fuel, etc.
Launched in 2014, the renovation project of Shymkent Refinery was pushed ahead in two phases. Phase I renovation project started operation on June 30, 2017, improving the gasoline quality from Euro II standard to Euro IV and Euro V standard so as to meet Kazakhstan's clean fuel requirements. On September 28, 2018, Phase II renovation project of Shymkent Refinery in Kazakhstan became operational. With the completion of Phase II, Shymkent Refinery deepened crude oil refinement and increased light oil yield remarkably. It becomes a modern refinery with complete processing means that is up to environment protection standard.
Grangemouth Refinery
In 2011, PetroChina International (London) Co., Ltd and INEOS established two joint ventures, PetroIneos Trading and PetroIneos Refining. As an important part of PetroIneos Refining, Grangemouth Refinery is currently the only refinery in Scotland.
Conveniently located on the southern coast of Scotland, Grangemouth Refinery is a port refinery with an annual processing capacity of 10.5 million tons of crude oil and a storage capacity of 970,000 cubic meters.
Lavéra Refinery
In 2011, PetroChina International (London) Co., Ltd and INEOS established PetroIneos, a joint venture which comprises PetroIneos Trading and PetroIneos Refining. Lavéra Refinery is PetroIneos Refining's major asset in France.
Lavéra Refinery is the largest refinery in southern France and the fourth largest refinery in the country. Situated on the Mediterranean coast close to Marseille, the refinery enjoys an advantageous geographical location with complete logistics facilities, and is a key pillar for energy supply and the most profitable refinery in southeastern France. Lavéra Refinery is capable of processing 210,000 barrels of crude oil per day, with storage capacity of 2.73 million cubic meters. It mainly produces jet fuel and diesel.
Osaka Refinery
In May 2008, CNPC and JXTG (renamed ENEOS in July 2020) entered into a cooperation agreement. Pursuant to the agreement, the parties established a joint venture, Osaka International Refining Company Limited (OIREC), which is 49% owned by CNPC. The refinery was founded in 1971 and now has a crude processing capacity of 115,000bpd.
Soralchin Refinery in Algeria
Soralchin Refinery in Adrar is an essential part of CNPC's integrated upstream and downstream project in Algeria with a designed annual processing capacity of 600,000 metric tons.
CNPC signed a Shareholder Agreement with Algerian national oil company Sonatrach on July 14, 2003, stipulating that CNPC taking a 70% shares while Sonatrach taking the rest 30% in Soralchin Refinery in a contracted term of 23 years. The refinery began to be constructed on February 4, 2004 and went into operation on April 5, 2007.
Soralchin Refinery comprises atmospheric distillation, catalytic cracking, catalytic reforming and vapor fractionation units and a generation plant and the utility system. The catalytic cracking unit is Algeria's first deep processing unit for heavy oil.
Zinder Refinery in Niger
The Zinder Refinery, the first modern refinery in Niger, is jointly operated by CNPC and the Nigerien government. It was completed and became operational in November 2011. The products include gasoline, diesel oil and liquefied gas, etc., which are supplied to meet domestic demand in Niger and partially sold to neighboring countries.
The Zinder Refinery includes a 1Mt/a atmospheric and vacuum distillation unit, a 600kt/a catalytic cracking unit, a 300kt/a diesel hydrogenation uint, a 100kt/a reforming unit, a 300kt/a gasoline sweetening unit, and three 1.2MW generator sets.
N'Djamena Refinery in Chad
The N'Djamena Refinery, jointly invested and constructed by CNPC and the Chadian Ministry of Petroleum, became operational in June 2011. It produces gasoline, diesel oil, aviation kerosene, liquefied gas, polypropylene, fuel oil, etc., and supplies electricity to N'Djamena, the capital of Chad.