Fujian Gulei Petrochemical (Gulei PC) completed construction of its LPG import facility in southeast China's Zhangzhou with the commissioning of two storage tanks at the end of July, a month earlier than scheduled.
The refrigerated 120,000m³ propane and 120,000m³ butane storage tanks will enable the company to start importing LPG soon. The terminal also completed construction last month of a berth for 50,000t very large gas carriers.
Gulei PC is a joint venture between state-controlled oil firm Sinopec with 25pc, Fujian Chemical 25pc and private-sector firm Xuteng Investment owning the remainder.
Gulei PC's 800,000 t/yr steam cracker with flexible feedstocks aims to start up next month. Market participants estimate that the terminal will help meet about 200,000–300,000 t/yr of the cracker's LPG demand. Joint-venture partner Fujian Chemical can supply an additional 500,000 t/yr of propane-butane mix for the cracker by pipeline from its nearby 1.6mn t/yr paraxylene (PX) plant. The cracker's naphtha needs will also be met by a combination of imports and supplies from Fujian Chemical's PX plant.
Fujian province imported 360,000t of propane and 39,000 of butane in this year's first half through its two existing terminals, according to Chinese customs data. One is owned by the 240,000 b/d Fujian Refining and Petrochemical in Quangzhou, with the other owned by Fujian Zhongjing Petrochemical — a 750,000 t/yr propane dehydrogenation plant in Fuzhou.
