Production and Consumption of Polyethylene Grow Steadily in China   

By Song Lixin, PetroChina Jilin Petrochemical Company

China's PE capacity continues to increase, with more than 90% held by Sinopec and PetroChina

At the end of 2010, there were more than 20 PE (polyethylene) producers in China, with a total capacity of 10.027 million t/a - 1.65 million t/a more than in 2009 - including new LLDPE capacity of 750 000 t/a and new HDPE capacity of 900 000 t/a. Total PE output was 9.86 million tons, up 28.6% year on year. Most of the country's PE capacity is held by Sinopec and PetroChina, which account for 93.0% of the domestic PE output. In 2010, several new HDPE / LLDPE units were completed, including Sinopec-SABIC (Tianjin) Petrochemical Co Ltd's 600 000 t/a PE unit, Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Company's 450 000 t/a PE unit, Shenhua Baotou Coal Chemical Co Ltd's 300 000 t/a PE unit using coal-to-olefins technology, and Liaoning Huajin Tongda Chemicals Co Ltd's 300 000 t/a PE unit. Major PE producers in China as of 2010 are listed in Table 1, Table 2 and Table 3. With the startup of several new PE units, it is expected that by 2012, China's LLDPE production capacity will reach 5.62 million t/a, and its HDPE capacity will reach 6.9 million t/a (see Table 4).

Table 1  Major LDPE producers in 2010
Producer    Capacity (kt/a)    Output (kt)
Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical Company (1 # PE, 2 # PE)    380(two sets)    395.1
BASF-YPC Company Limited    400    -
Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical Company    360(two sets)    374.8
PetroChina Daqing Petrochemical Company    260    243.3
CNOOC Shell Petrochemical Co Ltd    250    -
PetroChina Lanzhou Petrochemical Company    200    195.9
Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd    158    196.5
Petrochemical Qilu Petrochemical Company    175    175.1
Total    1933    1580.7

Table 2  Major producers of LLDPE (including full density PE) in 2010
Producer    Capacity (kt/a)    Output (kt)                                                              
Shanghai Secco Petrochemical Co Ltd    300    381.9
PetroChina Lanzhou Petrochemical Company    360(two sets)    342.2
PetroChina Jilin Petrochemical Company    274    283.4
Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical Company    220    185.9
PetroChina Dushanzi Petrochemical Company     500(two sets)    567.4
Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical Company    260    257.5
Sinopec Zhongyuan Petrochemical Company    200    223.8
Sinopec Guangzhou Petrochemical Company    200    215.0
Panjin Ethylene Co Ltd    125    121.7
Sinopec Tianjin Petrochemical Company    120    141.7
Sinopec Qilu Petrochemical Company    120    133.3
PetroChina Daqing Petrochemical Company    90    62.8
PetroChina Fushun Petrochemical Company    118    106.9
Sinopec Fujian Refining & Chemical Company    350    -
Sinopec-SABIC (Tianjin) Petrochemical Co Ltd    300    242.8
Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co Ltd    450    199.6
Total    3967    3465.9

Table 3  Major HDPE producers in 2010
Producer    Capacity (kt/a)    Output (kt)                                                           
Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical Company    350    282.4
PetroChina Jilin Petrochemical Company    300    312.9
Shanghai Secco Petrochemical Co Ltd    300    385.2
Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd    250    256.6
PetroChina Daqing Petrochemical Company    240    197.5
Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical Company    270    233.4
Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical Company    180    207.3
PetroChina Lanzhou Petrochemical Company    170    147.2
Sinopec Qilu Petrochemical Company    177    167.4
PetroChina Liaoyang Petrochemical Company    90    48.4
CNOOC Shell Petrochemical Co Ltd    200    -
PetroChina Dushanzi Petrochemical Company    300    261.0
Sinopec Fujian Refining & Chemical Company    400    -
Sinopec-SABIC (Tianjin) Petrochemical Co Ltd    300    252.9
Liaoning Huajin Tongda Chemicals Co Ltd    300    224.0
Shenhua Baotou ethylene project    300    -
Total    4127    2976.2

Table 4 New PE capacity in 2011-2012
Producer    Product    Capacity (kt/a)    Startup time                                                           
PetroChina Daqing Petrochemical Company    LLDPE    300    2012
PetroChina Fushun Petrochemical Company    LLDPE/ HDPE    450/300    Second half of 2012
Chengdu Ethylene Co Ltd    LLDPE/ HDPE    300/300    End of 2012
Wuhan Petrochemical Co ltd    LLDPE/ HDPE    300/300    End of 2012


PE consumption keeps growing

In 2010, China continued to push forward a number of economic stimulus policies. As a result, China's automotive, appliance and packaging industries recovered strongly. Meanwhile, infrastructure construction further promoted the development of the building material