Spanning an area of 4.2 square kilometers in Pudong New Area, towering process towers of Sinopec Shanghai Gaoqiao Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Gaoqiao Petrochemical) stand in grandeur. As China’s first cross-industry and cross-department super-large economic consortium founded in November 1981, Gaoqiao Petrochemical has grown into a vital energy production base of Shanghai.
At its establishment, Gaoqiao Petrochemical integrated seven factories and one research institute under different ministries in the Gaoqiao area, pioneering the joint restructuring of state-owned enterprises. Currently, the company operates 75 production units. Its comprehensive annual crude oil processing capacity has risen from the initial 4.3 million tons to approximately 13 million tons, while the annual physical output of chemical products has increased from 65,000 tons to 500,000 tons.
The origin of Gaoqiao Petrochemical dates back to the early days of the People’s Republic of China. Project "01", an expansion project of its predecessor Shanghai Refinery completed in 1953, marked China’s first self-designed and self-manufactured refining project after the founding of New China.
The site witnessed numerous "firsts" in China’s chemical industry: the first model man-made fiber plant, the first petroleum gas cracking ethylene production unit, the first 10,000-ton annual ethylene tubular cracking furnace... For these milestones, Gaoqiao Petrochemical is hailed as "the cradle of New China’s chemical industry".
Since its founding in 1981, Gaoqiao Petrochemical has closely aligned with national strategies and Shanghai’s urban development demands. It has undergone four pivotal transformations, evolving from a traditional refinery into a safe, eco-friendly and leading urban chemical enterprise.
In 1981, the State Council approved the integration of 8 enterprises and institutions (including Shanghai Refinery and Gaoqiao Chemical Plant) under 5 central ministries and 4 local bureaus in Gaoqiao into China’s first super-large cross-industry economic consortium. It broke the segmented administrative system under the planned economy and served as a reform testbed for the petrochemical sector.
At integration, the site had an annual crude oil processing capacity of 4.3 million tons and chemical output of 65,000 tons, forming an initial fuel-chemical integrated layout. In the 1990s, advanced foreign technologies were introduced to renovate the primary fluid catalytic cracking unit, lifting gasoline output by 20% and establishing the firm as Shanghai’s major oil product supplier.
Backed by Sinopec’s resource integration, the company advanced coordinated refining and chemical industrial chains, focusing on fuel quality upgrading and capacity expansion of basic chemical feedstocks.
2002: The world’s first MIP process unit with proprietary intellectual property rights (catalytic cracking technology for high isoparaffin yield) was put into operation at Gaoqiao Petrochemical. It broke foreign monopoly on refining technologies and pioneered domestic low-olefin green gasoline, laying groundwork for National IV and V fuel standards upgrades. 2007–2010: RMB 1.2 billion was invested to build 3 advanced units, enabling early production of National IV standard gasoline and diesel to support energy conservation and emission reduction during the Shanghai World Expo. 2010: Annual crude processing capacity exceeded 10 million tons, making it one of Sinopec’s four major lube base oil production bases supplying the Yangtze River Delta.
Shanghai’s urban functional upgrade from an industrial hub to a global science and innovation center plus the dual carbon targets forced traditional refineries to cut pollution and integrate into urban ecological development.
Environmental hardware upgrades: It became the first transaction participant in Shanghai’s carbon market in 2013; a grid VOCs monitoring system was completed in 2015; colored smoke plume governance for catalytic units finished in 2020, slashing total discharge of major pollutants by over 60% compared with 2010. Green product launch: Low-sulfur marine fuel (sulfur content <0.5%) launched in 2018 accounted for over 55% of Sinopec’s direct supply to Shanghai Port, boosting the construction of Shanghai International Shipping Center. After coal consumption renovation of self-owned power plants in 2020, annual carbon emissions were cut by 50,000 tons, ranking among top domestic power plants of its kind. Urban coordination: Regular public open days were launched, receiving nearly 40,000 visitors to eliminate public stereotypes that chemical plants equal pollution, earning recognition as Shanghai’s industrial tourism demonstration site.
Responding to Shanghai’s "3+6" modern industrial system covering advanced materials and new energy, the enterprise launched the "Second Venture" initiative, shifting development logic from output scale orientation to high value-added growth and fostering a second growth curve.
2021: Refined China’s first full-life-cycle carbon-neutral crude oil, completed carbon settlement in the inaugural compliance period of national carbon market, emerging as a low-carbon benchmark of the industry. 2022–2025 Special oil products: Developed customized lithium battery oil (99.9% purity, heavy metal-free), No.66 fully refined paraffin wax filling the domestic gap of high-end wax, and odorless asphalt adopted for viaducts at Hongqiao Airport to reduce construction odor. High-end chemicals: ABS renovation delivered low-odor, low-speckle products matching new energy vehicle interior requirements; low-cis polybutadiene rubber captured over 70% domestic market share in PS modification. New energy layout: A 500Nm³/h fuel cell hydrogen purification unit (99.998% purity) was built to supply high-purity hydrogen for Shanghai fuel cell vehicles. Low-sulfur petroleum coke (sulfur <3%) with monthly output of 3,000 tons serves as raw material for lithium battery anode materials.
Gaoqiao Petrochemical’s technological R&D targets practical industrial demands. It tackles bottleneck technologies in traditional refining while developing cutting-edge new energy and new material solutions, forming four integrated tech systems: distinctive refining technologies, high-end chemical technologies, green low-carbon technologies and intelligent enabling technologies.
Centered on the special oil transition strategy, differentiated technologies strengthen competitiveness in specialty oil products.
Focusing on ABS, styrene-butadiene rubber, phenol and acetone, process renovation and new product development penetrate high-end sectors including new energy vehicles and electronics.
Aligned with Shanghai’s dual carbon strategy, a three-dimensional tech system covering energy saving, resource recycling and new energy utilization delivers tangible results.
Intelligent technologies cover production, logistics and sales to support efficient operation of the urban factory. Intelligent production control: Upgraded dispatching center enables real-time data monitoring and early warning for all 75 units; predictive maintenance cuts equipment downtime by 30%. Customized production support: Digital twin plus dynamic parameter adjustment shortens lead time of low-melting paraffin wax from industrial average 15 days to 7 days for small-batch high-value orders. Production-marketing collaboration platform: Two product engineers with technical and market expertise form a closed loop of demand collection, production adjustment and delivery tracking. Custom ABS orders accounted for 40% of total ABS output in 2025.
Following Shanghai’s 15th Five-Year Plan targets of high-end industrial leadership and green transition, Gaoqiao Petrochemical defines four core themes: transformation, quality improvement, industrial agglomeration and eco-friendliness. Pushing forward its Second Venture, it targets becoming a world-leading benchmark urban chemical plant by 2030.
The development track and future layout of Gaoqiao Petrochemical revolve around three core logic: clear positioning, leveraging urban strengths and solving practical industrial demands. From cross-industry integration in 1981 to the current dual strategy of special oil transition and new materials, the enterprise always centers on serving Shanghai and fulfilling national strategies. Its R&D roadmap avoids blind high-end pursuit, focusing on differentiated problem-solving: MIP technology optimizes gasoline olefin content, low-sulfur marine fuel underpins the shipping center, and permeable asphalt facilitates sponge city construction. Aligned with the 15th Five-Year Plan goals of high-end and green development, future plans rely on industrial agglomeration, technological breakthroughs and digital intelligence. By 2030, Gaoqiao Petrochemical will complete its profound transformation from a traditional refinery to a high-tech enterprise, replicable as a universal Gaoqiao Model for domestic urban chemical manufacturers.
