Construction starts on US$20 billion petrochemical and refining complex in China

According to Reuters, China started building a mega petrochemical and refining complex in Shandong province this week, local state media reported, four months after the US$20 billion project received state approval.

The Yulong project to be built in Yantai, Shandong, China’s hub for independent oil refineries, consists of a 400 000 bpd refinery and a 3 million tpy ethylene plant, Reuters reported in June.

The project is one of nearly 500 key industrial projects that started construction in Shandong province last week with total investment of 544.7 billion yuan (US$81.26 billion), the newspaper reported.

The report did not provide further detail about the financing for the project or when the construction be will completed.

The complex, with investment led by private aluminium smelter Shandong Nanshan Group, adds to China’s recent wave of petrochemical investments, which have been led by the private sector and drawn global giants such as BASF and ExxonMobil to build complexes in the world’s top petrochemical consumer and importer.