Construction on China National Petroleum Corporation's petrochemical refining and chemical integration transformation and upgrading project in the Qinzhou Port area of China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone started on July 28.

The 30.5-billion-yuan ($4.5-billion) project is a major project in China's petrochemical industry and one of Guangxi's 10 major industrial projects in 2022. Upon its operation in 2025, the project is estimated to generate a total annual output value of 30 billion yuan and 3 billion yuan in tax revenue.

It will have a production capacity of 2.76 million metric tons of basic chemical raw materials, such as ethylene, propylene, and butadiene. In addition, it will also explore high-added value products, such as high-end polyolefin, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, and dissolving polymer rubber.

Guangxi officials noted during the event that the project has marked a new step forward for Guangxi's petrochemical industry towards green and high-end development. It will also help fill a gap in Guangxi's high-end new chemical materials industry, meet the market demands of regions alongside the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, as well as build a 1-trillion-yuan level petrochemical industrial cluster facing ASEAN.

The petrochemical industry in Qinzhou has been developing rapidly from the basic chemical industry to the high-end new materials industry, with the settling of batches of projects worth over 10 billion yuan each. An industrial pattern with four industrial clusters of olefin new materials, chemical fiber textiles, fine chemicals, and new energy materials has gradually taken shape in Qinzhou.

Statistics show that Qinzhou's petrochemical industry is expected to complete more than 200 billion yuan in investment by 2025, with an industrial output value of over 200 billion yuan, offering strong impetus for Qinzhou in building a national major petrochemical industrial base serving Southwest China and facing ASEAN.