Entity

Luoyang Petrochemical Branch district location map | Translated from map published on sohu.com (March 6, 2024)
 

Sinopec (Henan) Refining & Chemical Co., Ltd. (中石化（河南）炼油化工有限公司) — formerly SINOPEC Luoyang Branch, aka Luoyang Petrochemical) — is a major integrated refining and petrochemical enterprise affiliated with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Group Co., Ltd.), located at No. 1 Daqing Road, Jili District, Luoyang, Henan Province, China.

Origins & Development

Construction of the facility began in 1978, and it was originally approved during China's "5^th Five-Year Plan" as a 5 million t/y refinery. After coming into operation in 1984, it steadily expanded from a single fuel-type refinery into a large-scale integrated refining and petrochemical complex, driven by a "Three-Step" Development Strategy initiated in 2005.

Scale & Capacity

Sinopec Luoyang Branch is the only 10 million tonne-level integrated refining and chemical enterprise in Central China, and the leading petroleum and petrochemical enterprise in Henan Province. Its comprehensive refining processing capacity has reached 10 million tons per year, supported by 39 sets of refining, chemical, and chemical fiber equipment. The two main crude oil processing units together can handle approximately 200,000 barrels per day.

Key Products

The branch produces over 30 product varieties across more than 50 brands, including:

• Fuels: Gasoline, diesel, and aviation kerosene

• Petrochemicals: Paraxylene (PX), purified terephthalic acid (PTA), and xylenes

• Polymers: Polypropylene resin and Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)

• Others: Urea

Polypropylene Operations

The facility currently operates two polypropylene units using refinery propylene as feedstock:

• 1# PP Unit: Designed by Italy's TPL Company using Japan Mitsui Chemicals' HYPOL process technology; annual capacity of 80,000 t/y

• 2# PP Unit: Uses domestically developed 2^nd-generation loop-reactor polypropylene process technology (ST-II) with Sinopec's own catalyst system; commissioned in January 2013; annual capacity of 180,000 t/y

Million-Tonne Ethylene Project

In May 2023, construction officially began on Sinopec Luoyang's landmark 1-million t/y ethylene cracking project, with a total investment of ¥27.8 billion (~US$3.9 billion). The project was included in China's 14^th Five-Year Plan for the petrochemical industry in December 2022, and the overall design was approved in March 2023. It encompasses 13 main production units, including:

• 1 million t/y ethylene plant (steam cracker)

• 300,000 t/y m-LLDPE unit (using Sinopec's SGPE multi-temperature gas-liquid process)

• 350,000 t/y HDPE unit (Sinopec's own kettle-slurry process)

• 250,000 t/y LDPE/EVA unit and 100,000 t/y EVA unit (both high-pressure imported processes)

• 350,000 t/y 3# PP unit and 200,000 t/y 4# PP unit

• Supporting units for butadiene extraction, pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation, aromatics extraction, styrene extraction, and ethylene oxide

Once completed (originally scheduled for December 2025), total polyolefin capacity at Luoyang will reach 1.95 million t/y.

Regional Significance

As the dominant petrochemical hub in Central China, Sinopec Luoyang Branch plays a key role in supplying petrochemical products across Henan and surrounding provinces, reducing air pollution through cleaner energy use, and stimulating local economic growth.