Ningbo Petrochemical Economic & Technological Development Zone, one of China’s seven national core petrochemical bases, was founded in 1998 and remains the only specialized petrochemical industrial park in Zhejiang Province.
Bailu Garden under Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company was shortlisted for the 2025 national typical industrial & commercial biodiversity conservation cases and the second batch of Zhejiang Birdwatching Resorts.
The zone features well-structured zoning divided into four distinctive industrial blocks with clear division of labor and coordinated development, forming a closed-loop industrial ecosystem:
In 2025, the zone maintained robust industrial momentum and acted as the core driving force behind Ningbo’s industrial economic growth, fueling the comprehensive upgrading of regional petrochemical industries:
Covering a total land area of 3,926.78 hectares, it is Ningbo’s largest petrochemical professional park with the most complete industrial chain.
Centered on refining and ethylene as flagship sectors, the zone extends two core industrial chains of olefins and aromatics vertically. It prioritizes high value-added products including synthetic resins, high-end synthetic new materials, electronic chemicals and biomedicines, driving the industrial transformation from basic chemical manufacturing to high-end fine chemical production.
At the early stage of China’s reform and opening-up, the domestic petrochemical industry took shape. Leveraging its advantageous port resources, Ningbo became one of the earliest regions in China to deploy refining and chemical industries. In 1978, Zhejiang Refinery, the predecessor of Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company, was completed and put into operation with an initial annual refining capacity of 2.5 million tons. It mainly produced basic oil products such as gasoline and diesel, serving as the seed enterprise of Ningbo’s petrochemical industry.
During this phase, the base focused solely on basic crude oil refining, featuring short industrial chains, low product added value and relatively backward production technologies. Its output mainly satisfied domestic fundamental energy demands without large-scale integrated layout. Nevertheless, this stage laid solid industrial and talent reserves for subsequent expansion.
In August 1998, Ningbo Petrochemical Economic & Technological Development Zone was officially established as Zhejiang’s sole specialized petrochemical park, marking the standardized and agglomerated development of Ningbo’s petrochemical sector. In 2000, Zhenhai Refining & Chemical finished capacity expansion renovation, lifting its annual refining capacity to 8 million tons and growing into a key domestic refinery. The base expanded its refining scale continuously, attracting upstream and downstream supporting enterprises and forming an initial refining-centered industrial prototype.
After China’s accession to the WTO in the early 21st century, domestic economy integrated into the global market, pushing up sustained demand for petrochemical products and ushering in a golden era of rapid growth for Ningbo’s petrochemical industry. During this period, the base prioritized integrated refining and chemical layout, breaking the traditional separated model of crude refining and chemical manufacturing to realize coordinated development of crude processing and chemical product production.
In 2003, Zhenhai Refining & Chemical launched a 10-million-ton integrated refining and chemical project, boosting its annual refining capacity to 12 million tons and constructing supporting ethylene, aromatic hydrocarbon and other chemical facilities. This realized the strategic shift from refining-dominated operation to balanced refining and chemical manufacturing.
In December 2010, Ningbo Petrochemical Economic & Technological Development Zone was upgraded to a national-level economic and technological development zone, elevating its industrial status and nationwide influence. More well-known domestic and foreign petrochemical enterprises settled down, forming an industrial pattern led by Zhenhai Refining & Chemical with coordinated supporting manufacturers. By the end of 2010, the base’s total annual refining capacity exceeded 20 million tons, with an annual chemical product output of 5 million tons, ranking it among China’s critical integrated refining and chemical complexes.
Faced with global industry challenges including overcapacity, tightening environmental regulations and intensified technological competition, Ningbo’s petrochemical base proactively pursued transformation by focusing on technical upgrading and green development, shifting its development logic from scale expansion to quality improvement.
Since 2021, Ningbo’s petrochemical base has carried out new rounds of capacity expansion and industrial upgrading, focusing on the Phase II expansion project and high-end new material project of Zhenhai Refining & Chemical to expand production scale, upgrade technologies and perfect industrial chains.
On December 19, 2024, all mechanical construction work of Zhenhai Refining & Chemical’s Phase II expansion and high-end new material project was fully completed. The project set multiple domestic records among equivalent-scale industrial clusters, including the widest application of independent innovation technologies, highest intelligent manufacturing level and optimal energy conservation & emission reduction performance.
After the project launch, Zhenhai Refining & Chemical’s annual refining capacity reached 40 million tons, lifting the total annual refining capacity of Zhejiang Ningbo Petrochemical Base above 50 million tons and officially establishing it as Asia’s largest integrated refining and chemical base.
Ningbo Petrochemical Base boasts prominent scale advantages compared with other major refining and chemical hubs across Asia:
Supported by an annual refining capacity of 50 million tons, a fully integrated industrial chain and world-leading technical standards, Ningbo Petrochemical Base firmly holds the leading position among all Asian refining and chemical complexes and serves as a vital growth engine for the global petrochemical industry.
