China Blue delays plans on environmental concerns

30 August 2007 11:05  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--China BlueChemical has delayed work on two projects including a large-scale methanol plant, as it awaits environmental approval from the government, a company official said on Thursday.

 

The new start-up dates for the two projects would be decided when approvals were obtained, the official added, adding that construction usually took about two years.

 

China Blue had planned to start up the 1.13m tonne/year methanol project in Dongfang, Hainan province, in 2009, while the proposed 60,000 tonnes/year polyoxymethylene (POM) unit was supposed to come on stream in late 2008.

 

The country’s environmental watchdog requested supplementary information on the projects which China Blue had submitted, the official said.

 

A third project, a proposed 1m tonne/year urea plant in Jincheng, Shaanxi province, was still undergoing a feasibility study, he added.

 

China has stepped up its monitoring of chemical projects following multiple accidents in the country and rivers and lakes beset by pollution.

 

In late May, an algae bloom choked Taihu, the country’s third largest freshwater lake, and left over 2m Wuxi residents without any tap water, prompting the government to shut small chemical plants.

 

China Blue is the petrochemical arm of China National Offshore Oil Corp.

By: Florence Tan
+65 6780 4359

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