INEOS Phenol and Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical Company (Sinopec YPC) have today broken ground on the largest Phenol and Acetone plant to be built in China. The groundbreaking ceremony for the 1.2Mt development was held in Nanjing Chemical Industry Park (NCIP).
INEOS and Sinopec YPC have established a 50-50 joint venture company with a total investment of approximately USD 0.5B. The venture is expected to generate an annual sales revenue of around USD 0.8B. The new plant is scheduled to be completed and operational by the end of 2016.
The project achieved regulatory approval by National Development Reform Commission (NDRC) in August. The Jiangsu Province and Nanjing Municipal Government have also given the approval for the project and sanctioned the construction of the plant.
The new joint venture partnership will benefit from Sinopec’s local feedstock advantages and cumene technology alongside INEOS’ proprietary phenol technology. The annual capacity of the new facility will be at least 400,000t of phenol, 250,000t of acetone and 550,000t/year of cumene. Together, with associated infrastructure, the joint venture will be the largest capital investment ever undertaken by INEOS in China, and opens new opportunities for the company to meet the needs of this rapidly growing market.