Qatar Petroleum to start ethylene project in Hainan

May 12, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Qatar Petroleum International (QPI) on May 8 signed an agreement with Shide Group, a company headquartered in Dalian, Liaoning Province, and Sinopec's Hainan branch to start an ethylene project in Yangpu Economic Development Zone (YEDZ) in Hainan Province, sources reported.

The plan is still waiting for approval from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), but the initial preparation work is in progress. The share holding ratio of the three partners has not yet been decided.

An administrator of YEDZ said that the first-stage output of the ethylene project will be 2.6 million tons a year, but that it could eventually reach 5 million tons. CPI will provide the raw liquefied petroleum gas for the ethylene production.

A refining project with annual yield of 8 million tons has been set up in YEDZ. A 1.32 million-ton fertilizer project and a 600,000-ton methyl alcohol project also have been launched in Dongfang City, Hainan Province.

At the end of last year, the output value of the petrochemical industry in Hainan Province totaled RMB 50.3 billion, accounting for 42.6% of the province's total industrial output.