Forming two bases and one special zone, building a petrochemical industry cluster in the west side of the Taiwan Strait, achieving the trillion-level industrial goal... From not producing a drop of oil to becoming a major petrochemical province in China, in recent years, Fujian has attached great importance to the development of the petrochemical industry, continuously increasing policy support, vigorously implementing standardized construction of industrial parks, and as a result, the scale of the petrochemical industry is growing, making it one of Fujian’s four pillar industries, and an important industrial support for promoting high-quality development of Fujian in all aspects.

Recently, the 2023 China Chemical Industry Park Forum with the theme of “Innovation Breakthrough, Green and Low-carbon: to Build a New Pattern for High-Quality Development of Chemical Industrial Parks” was held in Huian, Fujian. The transformation of Fujian’s petrochemical industry has once again attracted attention of professionals.

Starting from scratch, it takes 70 years to build a trillion-dollar industry.

“From a deserted beach to a petrochemical industry base worth billion yuan, this place has witnessed the transformation of Huian’s petrochemical industry. On the afternoon of October 27th, guests attending the 2023 China Chemical Industry Park Forum visited the Quanhui Petrochemical Industrial Park, a petrochemical base of Sinochem in Quanzhou, and experienced firsthand the new petrochemical city on the shores of Meizhou Bay.”

The Quanhui Petrochemical Industrial Park, located on the south bank of Meizhou Bay, was established in 2005 and is one of the top ten growth sources and billion-yuan industrial bases in Fujian Province. According to He Guoping, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of the Quanhui Petrochemical Industrial Park, over the past 18 years, the park has completed the construction of a leading project with an annual refining capacity of 15 million tons, an annual ethylene production capacity of 1 million tons, and an annual aromatics production capacity of 800,000 tons, with the industrial scale and agglomeration effect becoming increasingly prominent. In 2022, the industrial output value of the park’s enterprises above designated scale is approximately 120.9 billion yuan, with tax revenue of approximately 7.5 billion yuan. It has ranked among the top 30 chemical industrial parks in China for five consecutive years and was awarded as the first national-level green chemical park in Fujian.

The Quangang Petrochemical Industrial Park, also located on the south bank of Meizhou Bay, face the Quanhui Petrochemical Park across the sea. In recent years, the Quanhui Petrochemical Industrial Park has been focusing on promoting the development of the petrochemical industry in the direction of “diversification of raw materials, high-end products, industrial clustering, and green and low-carbonization”, continuously improving the industrial system and creating new advantages for high-quality development. Chen Shalong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Quangang Petrochemical Industrial Park and Director of the Management Committee, said that by 2025, the ethylene production scale of the park is expected to reach 1.3 million tons per year, the propylene production scale is expected to reach 950,000 tons per year, and the synthetic materials production scale will exceed 2.18 million tons per year, establishing a first-class domestic synthetic materials industry base in China.

Along the coastline, the Gulei Economic Development Zone in Zhangzhou City, which is more than 200 kilometers away from the Meizhou Bay Petrochemical Base, is the only Taiwanese-funded petrochemical industrial park in mainland and one of the seven major petrochemical industrial bases in China. Currently, the Gulei Petrochemical Base has initially formed two 100 billion-level industrial chains, namely“aromatic hydrocarbons-polyester”and“olefins-plastics”. In addition, more than 10 Taiwanese-funded enterprises such as CHIMEI and TTC, as well as a batch of midstream and downstream fine chemical projects such as Tongkun Group, TCC, and Puyang Huicheng Electronic Material Co., Ltd, have settled in the Gulei Petrochemical Base. The complete upstream, midstream, and downstream petrochemical industry cooperation system across the Taiwan Strait is gradually being established. There are currently 12 petrochemical projects in operation, 14 projects under construction, and 14 contracted projects, with a total investment of over 280 billion yuan.

It’s learned that for over 70 years, the petroleum and petrochemical industry in Fujian has grown from scratch, from weak to strong, and has become an important pillar industry supporting the leapfrog development of Fujian’s economy and society. Going back to 1952, Fujian Petrochemical Company, the predecessor of SINOPEC Fujian Petrochemical Company, was established in Fuzhou, Fujian, and embarked on the specialized path of operating refined oil products in Fujian. With the Reform and Opening up, in 1989, SINOPEC and the Fujian Provincial People’s Government signed an agreement to jointly build the Fujian Refinery (the predecessor of Fujian Refining and Petrochemical Co., Ltd.), laying the foundation for the petroleum and petrochemical industry in Fujian. In May 1990, the construction of the Fujian Refinery began in Quangang, Quanzhou. On September 30, 1992, the continuous catalytic reforming unit produced qualified gasoline products, marking the end of Fujian’s history of not producing a drop of oil.

Guo Wei, Secretary-General of the Fujian Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association, introduced that currently, from the perspective of industrial layout, the petrochemical industry in Fujian Province is mainly distributed in the coastal areas of Meizhou Bay Petrochemical Base (Quangang District and Quanhui District), Zhangzhou Gulei Petrochemical Base, Fuzhou Jiangyin Chemical New Materials Zone (referred to as “two bases and one zone”), and Lianjiang Kemen Chemical New Materials Industrial Park.

The Fuzhou Jiangyin Port Economic Zone, located in the southeastern part of Jiangyin Peninsula in Fuqing, occupies a pivotal position in the province’s key chemical industrial park. It has formed an industrial agglomeration area featuring the coordinated development of port transportation, modern logistics, chemical new materials, electric power and energy, and equipment manufacturing, with the chemical industry as the pillar.

It is reported that the output value of the four pillar industries, including electronic information, advanced equipment manufacturing, petrochemicals, and modern textile and clothing, have all reached trillion-level. Their business revenue accounts for 59.4% of that of the industries above the designated scale in Fujian Province, playing a role as the “ballast” and “stabilizer” for the industrial economy of Fujian.

“The petrochemical industry has become one of the four pillar industries in Fujian province. The ‘two bases and one zone’ is an important platform for attracting large-scale high-quality petrochemical projects and promoting the transformation and upgrading of the petrochemical industry in the province.” Guo Wei told reporters that Fujian has already formed a petrochemical industry system with a relatively complete category such as petrochemicals, basic chemical materials, and fine chemicals, in addition to industries such as chemical fibers and plastic products. By 2022, the output value is expected to approach one trillion yuan.”

On October 26th, the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation released the comprehensive evaluation results of the high-quality development of chemical industrial parks in 2023. Quangang Petrochemical Industrial Park, Quanhui Petrochemical Industrial Park, and Zhangzhou Gulei Port Economic Development Zone are among the three parks that have entered the list of “2023 high-quality development chemical industrial parks”, once again witnessing the rise of the chemical industrial park economy in Fujian.

Synergy of Mountain and sea to build a petrochemical industry cluster on the west side of Taiwan Strait.

Insiders pointed out that as a pillar industry, the petrochemical industry has high relevance and wide product coverage, and plays an important role in stabilizing economic growth. From not producing a drop of oil to a major petrochemical producer in China, the petrochemical industry in Fujian Province is showing the vitality of a rising star.

According to the plan, Fujian will take Zhangzhou Gulei Petrochemical Base and Meizhou Bay Petrochemical Base as the center, relying on major industrial concentration areas such as Quangang Petrochemical Industrial Park, Quanhui Petrochemical Industrial Park, and Gulei Port Economic Development Zone. It will leverage the advantages of existing petrochemical, organic raw materials, synthetic materials, and other upstream industries to implement a development route of “less oil and more chemicals”. The industrial chain will continue to extend and develop into new chemical materials and high-end fine chemicals.

Nowadays, the new materials industry has become a strategic and basic industry, as well as a key field of hi-tech competition. For the petrochemical industry, this is a rare development opportunity and a proposition of the times. Guo Wei introduced that, especially with the upgrading of technology, the added value of petrochemical products can be effectively increased through extending the petrochemical industry from the original rough processing to a more refined direction, manufacturing key basic materials that meet the needs of technology of the new generation in electronic information, biomedicine, energy conservation, and environmental protection.

According to statistics, in 2022, there are about 2125 large-scale petrochemical enterprises in the province, with an annual operating income of 9925.7 billion yuan, an increase of 11.4% compared to the previous year, forming a relatively complete petrochemical industry system including petroleum and chemical industry, basic chemical materials, and fine chemicals.

Li Shousheng, the President of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, pointed out that the construction and development level of chemical industrial parks in China has made significant progress. Currently, there are five major regions with the potential to build world-class petrochemical industry clusters: Hangzhou Bay Petrochemical Industry Cluster, Pan-Pearl River Delta Petrochemical Industry Cluster, Bohai Bay Petrochemical Industry Cluster, Haixi (west side of the Taiwan Strait) Petrochemical Industry Cluster, and the “Energy Golden Triangle” modern coal chemical industry cluster.

Driven by the Haixi petrochemical industry cluster centered around Gulei, Quangang, and Quanhui, covering Jiangyin in Fuzhou, Putian, and other areas, the province currently has an annual refining capacity of 29 million tons, 2.1 million tons of ethylene, and 2.4 million tons of PX, forming a relatively complete industrial chain.

From the port to the mainland, from the petroleum industry to the chemical new materials and biopharmaceutical industry, from a single industry chain to cluster development, with the synergy of mountains and seas, great transformation and leap-frog development, the petrochemical industry in Fujian is advancing vigorously towards the goal of high-quality development of the Haixi petrochemical industry cluster.

In July 2022, in order to promote the high-quality development of the petrochemical industry, the Development and Reform Commission of Fujian Province and 5 other departments jointly issued the “Implementation Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Petrochemical Industry and Accelerating the Construction of a Trillion-Yuan Pillar Industry” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”). The “Opinions” provide measures to strengthen organizational leadership, implement element guarantees, increase financial support, optimize the environment favorable for development, and help achieve the goal of high-quality development of the petrochemical industry.

After the release of the “Opinions”, relevant departments and provinces should study and propose targeted and detailed measures combining local conditions to implement the “Opinions”, and actively formulate supporting policies and measures. For example, in June of this year, Quanzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government specifically established a petrochemical industry command center, continuously increasing support for the industry.

It’s learned from the 2023 China Chemical Industry Park Forum that the chemical industry in Fujian has gathered various advantageous resources, preferential policies, and superior conditions, enjoying broad space for development. Fujian Province will continue to carry forward the fine traditions of valuing commerce, close to commerce, and loving commerce, paying attention to the concerns of enterprises, creating a business environment that is warm, responsive, and efficient, and making the “soft power” of the business environment become a “hard support” for high-quality economic growth.