Qilu cuts ethylene output to boost refined oil

05 June 2008 11:19  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Sinopec subsidiary Qilu Petrochemical will cut its June ethylene production output by 10,000 tonnes so as to produce more refined oil for the recovery efforts in earthquake-hit Sichuan and the Beijing Olympics in August, Sinopec said on Thursday.

 

The reduction in ethylene output to 60,500 tonnes at its Zibo site, located in China’s eastern province of Shandong, is expected to raise the production of refined oil by 38,000 tonnes this month, the company added.

 

“In order to protect the supply levels of domestic refined oil, Sinopec will cut its ethylene output by 52,300 tonnes in total [in June], while Qilu will reduce its ethylene output by 10,000 tonnes,” department head of Qilu Petrochemical’s planning division said in Mandarin.

 

The cuts in Qilu’s ethylene output consisted of 3,500 tonnes of ethylene for use at its chlor-alkali unit and a 6,500 tonne reduction for its downstream plastics facility, which would cause a 7,000 tonne dip in its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) output, it said.

 

Separately, Qilu intended to reduce the planned turnaround of its refined oil facility from an initial 25-day period, beginning 5 June and ending 30 June, to a 20-day shutdown from 5 June to 25 June, it added.

 

The company also planned to ramp up output of refined oil products to 630,000 tonnes/year from 600,000 tonnes/year and run its cracker at its maximum capacity of 850,000 tonnes/year.

 

Meanwhile, the firm was looking to iron out various logistic issues and reduce its inventory levels so as to enable a steady supply of refined oil in the market, it said. 

 

Qilu’s downstream units include a 380,000 tonne/year oxo-alcohols plant, a 600,000 tonne/year PVC plant, a 140,000 tonne/year high density polyethylene (HDPE) unit, a 140,000 tonne/year low density PE (LDPE) unit, a 120,000 tonne/year linear LDPE (LLDPE) unit, a 200,000 tonne/year styrene monomer (SM) unit and a 70,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) unit.

 

Judith Wang contributed to this article

By: Serene Cheong
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