Hengli Petrochemical lets contract for integrated refining complex

Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Co. Ltd. (HPDC) has let a contract to Axens SA, Rueil-Malmaison, France, to provide a suite of processing units and technologies for a grassroots crude-to-paraxylene complex under construction at its integrated refining and petrochemical project in Hengli Petrochemical Industrial Park (HPIP) on Changxing Island in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China.

Alongside a final-conversion refinery designed to process 400,000 b/sd of crude oil into mostly naphtha, the refining complex also will include an aromatics plant that will maximize output of high-purity paraxylene to serve as feedstock for HPDC’s existing purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plants at HPIP, Axens said.

As part of the contract, Axens will deliver the following suite of proprietary technologies for the project:

• Two parallel trains of H-Oil RC units (using ebullated bed technology) for hydroconversion of vacuum residue, combined with a Solvahl deasphalting unit for processing unconverted residue. Pitch from the Solvahl unit will be used to feed an associated gasification unit.

• Two HyK hydrocracking units for processing straight-run vacuum distillate as well as distillate and deasphalted oil production from the H-Oil RC and Solvahl units.

• Two parallel trains of additional hydrocracking units equipped to process atmospheric gas oil in maximum naphtha-production mode.

• One naphtha hydrotreating unit.

• Three parallel Aromizing units (using a continuous catalytic regenerative-reforming process) to maximize aromatics production from naphtha.

• Two parallel Aromatics chains equipped with both Eluxyl 1.15 technology (for paraxylene purification) combined with Oparis technology (for full isomerization of other C8 aromatics into paraxylene).

• One methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) unit.

In addition to high-purity paraxylene, the new crude-to-paraxylene complex also will produce gasoline and diesel fuels that meet China 5-quality specifications, as well as jet fuel, base lube oils, and LPG.

The service provider did not disclose a value of the contract or a timeline for the project’s completion.

HPDC, which broke ground on the crude-to-paraxylene refining complex in late 2015, plans to invest a total of 74 billion yuan to complete the integration project, which is the largest refinery project in China ever to be approved, HPDC said in a release on Dec. 19, 2015.

A subsidiary of Hengli Group, Wujiang, Jiangsu Province, China, HPDC commissioned the first two 2.2 million-tonne/year PTA production lines of HPIP’s Phase 1 development in September 2012 and Phase 2’s first 2.2 million-tpy line in February 2015, according to Hengli.

Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].