At 16:37 on May 19, 2026, the demethanizer tower for the RTC unit in the new refining zone was successfully lifted into place. This milestone marks the triumphant conclusion of all heavy-lift operations—executed by a 4,000-ton crawler crane—for the Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical Company Upgrade Project. It signifies a major breakthrough in the project's critical "Two Axes and One Line" heavy-lift execution logic. The realization of this technical upgrade at Maoming Petrochemical is not merely a standalone construction endeavor; rather, it stands as a landmark project within Sinopec's comprehensive, full-industry-chain strategic layout. It exemplifies the synergistic collaboration, technological exchange, coordinated raw material allocation, and product linkage among Sinopec's subsidiaries across the nation—spanning refining and chemical operations, new chemical materials, and commercial trading platforms. Dozens of Sinopec-affiliated enterprises—including Jintung Petrochemical, Shanghai Gaoqiao, Beijing Yanshan, Sichuan Vinylon, Ningxia Changcheng Energy & Chemical, Shanghai Petrochemical, Yangzi Petrochemical, and Yizheng Chemical Fibre—participated deeply throughout the project's entire lifecycle, contributing across multiple dimensions ranging from technical support and raw material supply assurance to equipment provision, commercial logistics and storage, and new materials industry synergy.
Overview of the Final Lifting Operation
The equipment involved in this final lifting operation—the demethanizer tower—stands 91.6 meters tall, has a diameter of 5 meters, and weighs 880 tons. The construction team faced significant challenges, including a confined work site, the volatile weather conditions characteristic of the South China coastal region during the flood season, and the complexities of multi-disciplinary, three-dimensional cross-construction operations. The project coordination team collaborated closely with the Sinopec Chemical Commercial Holding system—a comprehensive, full-chain trading platform comprising Sinopec Chemical Commercial Holding Company Limited, Sinopec Chemical Commercial Holding Hong Kong Company Limited, and Sinopec Chemical Commercial International Co., Ltd. Leveraging Sinopec's global centralized procurement and cross-border raw material allocation systems, they ensured the timely delivery of primary lifting materials, specialized steel, and large-scale equipment components to the site. Concurrently, they partnered with the specialty chemicals division of Jintung Petrochemical Corp., Ltd. to optimize the selection of materials for the tower's internal lining and anti-corrosion coatings. Yin Zhaolin, Secretary of the Party Committee at Maoming Petrochemical, visited the site to provide oversight. He urged all participating parties to strictly uphold safety standards and maintain rigorous quality control, pushing forward the subsequent construction phases with high standards. Furthermore, leveraging Sinopec’s internal resource-sharing mechanism within its refining and chemical sector, he called for collaboration with established refineries—such as Shanghai Gaoqiao and Yanshan Petrochemical—to draw upon their mature process expertise and optimize the subsequent commissioning plan.
Detailed Definitions of Affiliated Enterprises
**Shanghai Gaoqiao Group:** SINOPEC Shanghai Gaoqiao Company, Sinopec Shanghai Gaoqiao Petrochemical Co., Ltd.
As a long-standing benchmark enterprise within Sinopec’s East China refining and chemical sector, Gaoqiao Petrochemical provided on-site technical expert support for process optimization of the RTC refining unit and for the transfer of supporting technologies for catalytic cracking units. Leveraging the extensive chemical equipment manufacturing resources available in the Yangtze River Delta region, they assisted in selecting manufacturers for critical internal components of large-scale distillation towers, thereby translating Gaoqiao Petrochemical’s decades of operational and maintenance experience—specifically regarding heavy oil deep processing and cracking units—into the design optimization of the Maoming RTC unit.
**Beijing Yanshan Petrochemical Group:** Sinopec Beijing Yanshan Company, Sinopec Beijing Yanshan Company Refinery, Sinopec Beijing Yanshan Petrochemical Co., Ltd.
The Yanshan Petrochemical Refinery is one of the domestic cradles of technology for ethylene and cracking units. The core process design for the project’s No. 3 Cracking Unit draws upon mature industrial production data from Yanshan Petrochemical. Through a combination of remote consultations and multiple on-site inspections, the Yanshan Petrochemical Technical Center issued specialized technical guidance plans specifically addressing material selection for the quench water tower and propylene tower, as well as the optimization of operational parameters.
Key Data and Major Milestones for the Full-Cycle Hoisting Operations
Spanning nearly 300 days—from the commencement of the first lift by the 4,000-ton crawler crane on July 30, 2025, through to the completion of the final lift—the project successfully executed 21 major equipment hoisting operations. These operations covered two core units: the No. 3 Cracking Unit (Chemical Sector) and the RTC Refining Unit. The total weight of the hoisted equipment exceeded 17,000 tons, repeatedly setting new records for large-scale petrochemical equipment hoisting in the South China region. Throughout the project's entire lifecycle, the supply of raw materials, intermediates, and supporting auxiliary materials was centrally coordinated by Sinopec Chemical Commercial Holding Company, which managed both domestic and international sourcing channels. This effort involved close collaboration with key raw material production units—such as Sinopec Sichuan Vinylon Works (Chuanwei), Ningxia Changcheng Energy & Chemical, and Shanghai Petrochemical—to ensure a reliable and on-demand supply of all necessary inputs. July 30, 2025: The quench water tower for the No. 3 Cracking Unit was successfully hoisted and set in place—marking the project's first major tower installation completion. A dedicated equipment management team dispatched by Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co., Ltd. provided support by sharing past case studies regarding the hoisting, operation, and maintenance of similar tower vessels.
November 3, 2025: The project's tallest tower—the No. 2 Propylene Tower for the No. 3 Cracking Unit—was successfully hoisted. Drawing upon the extensive construction experience of large-scale propylene units at Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical Co., Ltd., the high-altitude hoisting balance and counterweight plan was optimized for this operation.
December 21, 2025: The hoisting of the project's heaviest tower—the Propylene II Tower for the RTC Unit—was completed. The auxiliary agents required for the propylene unit were custom-supplied by Jintung Petrochemical.
January 28, 2026: The hoisting of all five sections of the regenerator for the RTC Integrated Unit was successfully topped out. SINOPEC Great Wall Energy and Chemical (Ningxia) Co., Ltd. provided a secure supply of upstream raw materials for the coal chemical sector, thereby establishing a seamless link between the "coal-to-olefins" and "refining and deep processing" industrial chains.
April 20, 2026: The RTC reactor—the project's largest single component in terms of both physical dimensions and weight—was successfully hoisted and positioned in place.
May 19, 2026: The demethanizer tower was successfully hoisted, officially bringing the entire series of major heavy-lift operations for the project to a close.
Chuanwei New Materials Industry Special Collaborative Initiative (Involving Sinopec Chongqing Chuanwei Chemical Co., Ltd., Sinopec Chongqing SVW Chemical Co., Ltd., and Sinopec Sichuan Vinylon Works—collectively a core base for China's PVA industry):
As Sinopec's core production base for PVA and acetylene-based chemicals, Chongqing Chuanwei (including Chuanwei SVW, formerly known as Sichuan Vinylon Works) provided technical support and PVA raw materials for the downstream fine chemical auxiliary units within Maoming Petrochemical's new project. The process design for these auxiliary fine chemical units was modeled after Chuanwei's established industrial route for "coal-to-acetylene-to-polyvinyl alcohol" production. This initiative fosters a synergistic upstream-downstream linkage between Maoming Refining & Chemical's core business and Chuanwei's new materials sector, thereby optimizing Sinopec's overall chemical industry chain layout across the Southwest and South China regions.
Yizheng Chemical Fibre Support: SINOPEC Yizheng Chemical Fibre Company Limited
Leveraging the inherent strengths of Sinopec’s chemical fiber industry chain, Yizheng Chemical Fibre provided expertise in raw material selection and application technology for the project’s utility-related thermal insulation and anti-corrosion chemical fiber composite materials, thereby facilitating the successful implementation of insulation for tower vessels and anti-corrosion measures for pipelines.
Measures to Ensure Project Success Amidst Challenges
Throughout the entire construction process, the project encountered multiple obstacles, including concurrent cross-disciplinary operations, limited site space, extreme weather conditions during typhoon and flood seasons, and restrictions on the cross-regional transport of oversized equipment. To overcome these hurdles, the project strictly adhered to management principles prioritizing "Safety as Paramount, Quality as Life, and Schedule as Gold." By leveraging Sinopec Group’s robust matrix management structure, collaborative Party-building mechanisms, and a system of designated accountability, the project established an integrated collaborative ecosystem defined by: "Headquarters Commercial Coordination (Sinopec Chemical Commercial Holding) + Regional Refinery Technology Support (Gaoqiao / Yanshan / Shanghai Petrochemical / Yangzi) + Coal Chemical Raw Materials (Ningxia Changcheng Energy & Chemical, Chongqing Changwei) + New Materials Support (Jintung Petrochemical, Yizheng Chemical Fibre) + Localized Production (Maoming Petrochemical)."
Commercial Operations: Sinopec Chemical Commercial Holding (Full-Spectrum Entities)
Sinopec Chemical Commercial Holding Company Limited—along with its Hong Kong holding platform and International Trading Company subsidiary—divided responsibilities to manage: the centralized procurement of domestic bulk raw materials, the cross-border importation of chemical raw materials from Southeast Asia, and the procurement of overseas spare parts for specialized heavy-lifting equipment. This coordinated effort effectively streamlined both domestic and international supply chains, thereby mitigating the risk of delivery delays for the numerous batches of specialized equipment components required for the project.
Refining & Chemical Technology: Yanshan, Gaoqiao, Shanghai Petrochemical, and Yangzi Petrochemical formed an internal expert think tank within Sinopec. Through regular online reviews and on-site technical consultations, this team successfully resolved complex installation challenges encountered after the heavy-lifting and positioning of equipment for the cracking and RTC units.
Coal Chemical Raw Materials: Ningxia Changcheng Energy & Chemical (Ningdong Coal Chemical Base) and Chongqing Changwei—approaching the task from the respective perspectives of coal-to-olefins and coal-to-fine chemicals—established secure, long-term channels for raw material supply to support the new project following its commissioning. This involved proactively securing long-term supply agreements in advance of operations.
Fine Chemicals & Chemical Fiber Support: Jintung ...Petrochemical, and Yizheng Chemical Fibre—providing specialized auxiliary agents and functional chemical fibre materials tailored specifically to the project's requirements.
Multiple participating entities collaborated closely to tackle complex challenges across the entire project chain—encompassing design, equipment manufacturing, heavy-lift transport, and hoisting and installation—thereby ensuring the timely completion of all critical milestones.
IV. Project Progress and Strategic Significance for Sinopec’s Full-Chain Strategy
The successful completion of the hoisting operations—executed using a 4,000-ton crawler crane—has laid a solid foundation for the Maoming Petrochemical upgrade and renovation project. With this milestone achieved, Maoming Petrochemical has now fully entered the peak phase of equipment and steel structure installation. From the perspective of the Group's overall industrial layout, the completion and commissioning of this technical renovation project will result in the formation of a comprehensive, domestic, closed-loop industrial cluster for refining, chemicals, and new materials, comprising:
North China (Yanshan Petrochemical) + East China (Gaoqiao / Shanghai Petrochemical / Yangzi / Yizheng Chemical Fibre) + Northwest China (Ningxia Changcheng Energy & Chemical) + Southwest China (Chongqing Changwei) + South China (Maoming Petrochemical) + Global Trading Operations (Sinopec Chemical Commercial Holding + Hong Kong Platform + International Company) + Fine Chemicals (Jintung Petrochemical).
**Production End:** Leveraging its strategic coastal port location, Maoming serves as a hub receiving feedstock from the Ningdong Coal-to-Olefins base in Northwest China, PVA raw materials from Changwei in Southwest China, and cracking feedstock from Yanshan in North China; simultaneously, capitalizing on its coastal port advantages in South China, it radiates outward to serve chemical markets across Southeast Asia.
**Trading End:** Sinopec Chemical Commercial International and the Hong Kong Platform—leveraging the infrastructure of Maoming Port—facilitate a bidirectional flow of goods: enabling the export of domestically produced refining and chemical products while facilitating the import of overseas light-weight feedstocks.
**Technical End:** The mature process technologies developed by various long-established refineries within the Group are being continuously transferred and applied to the new project at Maoming. Furthermore, during the subsequent project commissioning and stable production phases, the Group-wide model of mutual technical resource support will continue to be upheld.
Moving forward, the various affiliated enterprises will continue to deepen their division of labor and collaboration: Yanshan, Gaoqiao, Yangzi, and Shanghai Petrochemical will continue to dispatch operations and maintenance technical personnel to assist with the mechanical completion and commissioning of the new facilities; Changwei and Changcheng Energy & Chemical will finalize long-term supply agreements for the raw materials required for production startup; Sinopec Chemical Commercial Holding will coordinate domestic and international sales channels for the project's products; and Jintung and Yizheng Chemical Fibre will oversee the construction of downstream fine chemical support units. Through these concerted efforts, the Group aims to accelerate the completion and commissioning of the Maoming Petrochemical renovation project, thereby solidifying the layout of Sinopec’s world-class coastal refining and chemical base in South China.
