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ExxonMobil Huizhou ethylene project by night | Credit: Southern Press 
(Location retrieve via Baidu Maps with search term: 埃克森美孚惠州化工综合体.)

ExxonMobil Huizhou Chemical Complex (埃克森美孚惠州化工综合体) is located in Daya Bay Petrochemical Industrial Park, China's premier petrochemical hub, neighboring CNOOC's 440,000 b/d refinery, CNOOC-Shell joint venture petrochemical complex, and facilities operated by Shell, BASF, Clariant, and Mitsubishi Chemical. The Daya Bay Petrochemical Industrial Park ranks #1 among China's top 30 chemical parks. Phase 1 of the complex, that completed start-up on July 15, 2025, The complex has three PE and two PP lines for a combined performance product capacity of over 2.5m tonnes/year. Processing plants details are described here below.​ All core process technologies are developed and owned by ExxonMobil, with catalyst systems supplied by ExxonMobil Chemical Technology Licensing.

Steam Cracker Complex

In December 2024, the 1.6 million tons of ethylene unit of the ExxonMobil Huizhou Ethylene Phase I project was successfully delivered | Credit: ExxonMobil China via Baidu Baijia (Mar 1, 2025)

• Capacity: 1.65 million t/y ethylene, 850,000 t/y propylene
• Co-products: Propylene, butadiene, benzene, hydrogen (internal fuel/utility use)
• Technology: ExxonMobil SHV (Self-Heat-Driven Vapor Recovery) advanced steam cracking with high olefin yield
• Feedstock Flexibility: Designed to process naphtha, LPG (propane/butane), ethane, or blends​
• Key Equipment: 10 pyrolysis furnaces (photo), quench system, recovery/compression trains, C₂/C₃/C₄ separation units
• Start-up: April 2025 (trial run); July 15, 2025 (commercial operations)​

Polyolefin Plants

• ExxonMobil Gas Phase PE Technology (GPPT): 
  • LLDPE 1 Plant: 730,000 t/y capacity
  • LLDPE 2 Plant: 470,000-500,000 t/y capacity (depending on source)
• ExxonMobil Tubular LDPE Plant: 500,000 t/y capacity (world's largest single-train LDPE unit)
• ExxonMobil Polypropylene Technology:
  • PP 1 Plant (Homopolymers): Supercritical loop reactor; 450,000 t/y capacity 
  • PP 2 Plant (Impact Copolymers): Loop + dual gas-phase reactors; 400,000 t/y capacity

Utilities and Infrastructure

Integrated Energy Station:

• Receives process tail gas from cracker and polymer units for combustion
• Provides steam, electricity, and heat integration across the site
• External pre-treatment model for environmental compliance​

Storage and Logistics:

• Dedicated tank farm for naphtha, LPG, and liquid products
• Product storage silos for PE and PP pellets
• Marine terminal berths (via Vopak Huizhou Terminal and dedicated facilities) for feedstock import and product export​
• Pipeline connections within Daya Bay industrial park for ethylene, propylene, and utilities interchange

Feedwater and Wastewater:

• Seawater cooling system (Daya Bay coastal location)
• Advanced wastewater treatment with zero liquid discharge capability

Flare and Safety Systems:

• Emergency flare system for process upsets
• Distributed control system (DCS), safety instrumented systems (SIS), and fire/gas detection networks

References

1. Ouyang Dehui, Dai Jian. Huizhou Daily (Feb 16, 2023). Significant progress! ExxonMobil Huizhou Ethylene Project Completed Heavy Tower Hoisting
2. ICIS, via GLOBUC (Dec 18, 2023). ExxonMobil’s China cracker project will include 2.5m tonnes/year of combined polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) capacity downstream, its chief financial officer (CFO) said.
3. ExxonMobil Signature Polymers Brochure (Document dated: Oct 3, 2024)
4. Argus Media (Feb 6, 2025). ExxonMobil starts up LLDPE unit in China's Huizhou city
5. ChemOrbis (Apr 8, 2025). China’s PE, PP new capacity wave gathers pace across Q1 and April, coinciding with tariff turmoil
6. Zheng Caixiong. China Daily (Jul 16, 2025). ExxonMobil puts mega ethylene project into operation in Huizhou
7. Trixie Sher Li Yap, Chen Aizhu. Reuters (Feb 28, 2025). ExxonMobil buys naphtha as China petchem complex enters test runs, sources says
8. Xinhua News Agency (Jul 15, 2025). China's gravity continues to increase, and the first major petrochemical project wholly owned by a US company in China has been put into operation in Guangdong
9. Ma Fazhou; Liang Weichun; Luo Rui. Southern Press (Jul 15, 2025). ExxonMobil Huizhou Company Chairman Li Xingjun: Jointly Promoting Industrial Chain Upgrade in the Greater Bay Area