According to China Chemical Information Weekly, on October 26, PetroChina Guangxi Petrochemical's 1.2 million-ton-per-year ethylene facility commenced operations. Employing CNPC's proprietary large-scale ethylene process technology, the facility will annually produce 1.2 million tons of polymer-grade ethylene, along with polymer-grade propylene, hydrotreated gasoline, styrene, and other products. It will also yield over 20 by-products including hydrogen, cracked C5 hydrocarbons, C9 hydrocarbons, and cracked fuel oil. Among these, high-end membrane materials and pipe materials will directly address domestic supply gaps.

The facility's commissioning marks CNPC Guangxi Petrochemical's complete transformation from a “fuel-oriented” refinery to an integrated refining and petrochemical enterprise focused on chemical products and organic materials.

CNPC Ethylene Production Capacity Overview

CNPC's refining and chemical operations primarily focus on three strategic directions: “reducing oil processing while increasing chemical production,” “reducing oil processing while increasing specialty products,” and “reducing oil processing while increasing green production.” Through optimizing production capacity structure, advancing key project construction, and strengthening technological innovation, CNPC is driving its refining and chemical business toward the mid-to-high end of the industrial and value chains. Currently, CNPC's refining and chemical segment possesses over 200 million tons/year of crude oil primary processing capacity, forming a multi-million-ton-scale refining cluster..

Capacity Scale Continues Rapid Growth

Ethylene output serves as a key indicator of a nation's petrochemical development level. China became the world's largest ethylene producer in 2022. Based on disclosed projects, domestic ethylene capacity under construction or planned exceeds 40 units. The peak period for ethylene capacity additions will persist through 2025–2026. In 2025, China's new ethylene capacity additions will approach 10 million tons/year.Ethylene output is projected to reach 53.3 million tons, an 11.9% increase from the previous year, with total capacity approaching 62 million tons/year. Capacity growth is expected to moderate by 2027, and by 2028, China's ethylene equivalent gap is anticipated to be largely eliminated. Both ethylene and its primary downstream products will achieve self-sufficiency.

New Ethylene Capacity Added in 2025 (10,000 tons/year）

As China's manufacturing sector undergoes transformation and upgrading, high-end manufacturing fields such as rail transit and medical devices demand exceptionally high standards for material performance, precision, and reliability. This presents new development opportunities for the high-end new materials sector within ethylene's downstream applications.

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