ExxonMobil to build petrochemical complex in China’s Daya Bay development zone

ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil company, will build a petrochemical complex in the southern Chinese city of Huizhou.

The city’s government said on Thursday that the oil major had signed a partnership agreement aimed at creating a “world-class petrochemical industry base” in the Daya Bay area on China’s south coast.

“The complex, which will adopt advanced industry and environmental protection technologies, meets the needs of Guangdong [and will help] to further open up and upgrade the industry structure,” said Ma Xingrui, governor of Guangdong province.

Huizhou is located in the southeast of Guangdong province, part of the industrial Pearl River Delta region. The city’s Daya Bay economic and technological development zone currently houses several refineries and petrochemical production facilities for Cnooc, China’s largest offshore oil producer, and Cnooc and Shell Petrochemicals Company, a joint venture between the industry majors.

“We will enhance policy support for foreign investors and offer key support to build a world-class petrochemical industry base in the Daya Bay area,” said Xingrui.

“ExxonMobil plans to invest billions of US dollars and build a petrochemical complex in Huizhou with leading technologies, highest safety standards and optimal operation experiences,” said Neil Chapman, the president of ExxonMobil Chemical Company.

He said the company’s goal was to ensure its investment and operations meet economic development needs and environmental protection requirements, in order for it to positively impact the region.

The complex will include a world-class steam cracking device and a matching olefin derivative processing unit, the Huizhou government said.

Elsewhere, the second phase of Cnooc’s Huizhou refinery project is under construction. It will have a refinery production capacity of 22 million tonnes per year on completion, making it one of the largest in the country.