The top oil companies of China, Sinopec and PetroChina, have obtained governmental approval to build six ethylene plants in China to meet surging domestic demand.
The projects mean capacity will be doubled to 15 million tons a year by 2010.
Ethylene is a product obtained from petroleum and natural gas and used in manufacturing many other chemicals.
Sinopec will set up three new ethylene crackers in Tianjin, Quanzhou in Fujian Province and Zhenhai in Zhejiang Province. They will have a combined capacity of 2.8 million tons a year, a senior official in charge of the oil refiner's petrochemical business told China Daily.
The other three will be built by PetroChina in Chengdu in Sichuan Province, Dushanzi in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Fushun in Liaoning Province. The three plants will expand PetroChina's ethylene production capacity by as much as 2.6 million tons a year.
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Two Chinese oil Giants Build 6 Refineries
Ethylene is a product obtained from petroleum and natural gas