By Wang Liyuan, OilChem China
Accelerated capacity expansion
China’s acrylonitrile capacity was up 53% or 690 kt/a to 1.99 million t/a in 2018 from 1.3 million t/a in 2012 (output, up 63% to 1.67 million tons from 1.03 million tons). Operating rates were lower than 80% from 2014 to 2015 given a large number of imports, and grew to around 90% during 2016-2017 with new capacities entering into the market, but fell to, on average, 85% in 2018 as most facilities stopped running for overhaul conducted every three or four years.
Figure 1 China’s acrylonitrile capacity and output 2009-2018
Currently being the largest supplier of acrylonitrile in China, Sinopec boasts a capacity of 860 kt/a, accounting for 43.86% of the nation’s total. CNPC comes next and takes up 36.26% of the total with 711 kt/a capacity. Most new acrylonitrile projects to be put into production during 2019-2025 are constructed by private firms, which set foot in the acrylonitrile market in 2014.
Table 1 Existing acrylonitrile producers in China
Company | Location | Capacity(kt/a) | Proportion(%) |
Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical Co., Ltd. | Shanghai | 520 | 26.1 |
Sinopec Anqing Petrochemical Company | Anqing, Anhui | 210 | 10.6 |
Shandong KoRuhr Chemical Co., Ltd. | Dongying, Shandong | 130 | 6.5 |
PetroChina Jilin Petrochemical Company | Jilin | 452 | 22.7 |
PetroChina Fushun Petrochemical Company | Fushun, Liaoning | 92 | 4.6 |
PetroChina Daqing Petrochemical Company | Daqing, Heilongjiang | 80 | 4.0 |
PetroChina Daqing Refining & Chemical Company | Daqing, Heilongjiang | 80 | 4.0 |
PetroChina Lanzhou Petrochemical Company | Lanzhou, Gansu | 35 | 1.8 |
Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical Co., Ltd. | Lianyungang, Jiangsu | 260 | 13.1 |
Shandong Haijiang Chemical Co., Ltd. | Zibo, Shandong | 130 | 6.5 |
Total | 1 989 | 100.0 |
Relatively slow growth of downstream demand
When acrylonitrile capacity is expanding, downstream demand for acrylonitrile has been increasing, with the ABS sector seeing the fastest growth. ABS resin is widely used in automobile manufacturing, electronics, electrical appliances, instruments, building materials, daily necessities, etc. ABS capacity expansion decelerated in recent years, and operating rates gradually rose to around 90%. Domestic output of ABS was 3.5 million tons in 2018, consuming around 875 kt of acrylonitrile (taking up 43% of apparent consumption of acrylonitrile, up four percentage points from 2017).
Figure 2 Proportion of downstream acrylonitrile consumption in China 2013-2018
Figure 3 Supply and demand of acrylonitrile in China 2009-2018
Table 2 China’s acrylonitrile projects under planning or construction
Company | Capacity (kt/a) | Time of going into production |
Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical Co., Ltd. | 260 | End of August 2019 |
Zhejiang Petrochemical Co., Ltd. | 260 | November or December 2019 |
Shandong KoRuhr Chemical Co., Ltd. | 130 | Second half of 2020 |
CNOOC Dongfang Petrochemical Co., Ltd. | 200 | Second half of 2020 |
Shenghong Refining & Chemical Company | 520 | 2021 |
Shandong Kaitai Petrochemical Co., Ltd. | 80 | 2021 |
Dalian Jianye Chemical Co., Ltd. | 260 | To be confirmed |
Henan Nanpu Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. | 140 | To be confirmed |
Qingdao Jinneng Science & Technology New Materials Co., Ltd. | 260 | To be confirmed |
Total | 2 110 |