Overcapacity to Become New Problem Troubling Acrylonitrile Industry
Year:2019 ISSUE:17
COLUMN:ORGANICS
Click:134    DateTime:Sep.06,2019


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.


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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

Capacitykt/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).   


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Figure 2  Proportion of downstream acrylonitrile consumption in China 2013-2018


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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