China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China’s largest offshore oil-and-gas producer, and Shell have officially launched the second ethylene cracker at their Nanhai petrochemicals complex in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China. Several linked derivative units have also started or will start up progressively over the next few weeks. The new units were constructed by CNOOC and are owned and operated by the CNOOC and Shell Petrochemical Company (CSPC) joint venture.
The ethylene cracker increases ethylene capacity at the complex by around 1.2 million tonnes per year, more than doubling the capacity of the complex. The facility will include a styrene monomer and propylene oxide (SMPO) plant, which will be the largest in China when it begins operations. The complex produces olefins and derivative products that are used in a wide range of industrial and consumer products.
The complex benefits from a deep integration with adjacent CNOOC refineries. It uses Shell’s OMEGA, SMPO, and polyols technologies to produce ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, propylene oxide, and high-quality polyols, as well as advanced technologies for polyolefins, phenol, and oxo-alcohols production. It is the first time that Shell’s industry-leading OMEGA and advanced polyols technologies have been applied in China.
- Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Den Haag, The Netherlands
- China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Beijing, China
