SINOPEC Ningbo Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company has witnessed a substantial capital upgrade, with its registered capital surging from CNY 17.892 billion to CNY 34.5 billion, representing a 93% increase. The significant capital expansion marks a key strategic layout after the full completion of China’s first 40-million-ton-level refining base.
The newly increased capital serves as targeted financial support for the base’s phase-II projects rather than idle reserves. The newly added high-end polyolefin and new material projects are capable of supplying nearly 8 million tons of high-quality chemical products annually, driving trillion-level industrial chain output. The capital expansion consolidates solid financial foundations for the efficient and stable operation of this large-scale industrial ecosystem.
In terms of industrial pattern, the capital upgrade fully responds to the industry’s core competition logic of “scale improvement coupled with quality upgrading”. China’s total domestic refining capacity is approaching the 1-billion-ton regulatory red line, continuously squeezing the living space of small and medium-sized local refineries and making industrial integration an inevitable trend. Endowed with a 40-million-ton annual crude oil processing capacity, 120-million-ton annual terminal throughput capacity, and doubled capital strength, Zhenhai Refining further consolidates its status as China’s largest petrochemical manufacturing enterprise. It also strengthens its industrial radiation capability over the Yangtze River Delta and the whole country, acting as a critical stabilizer amid industry reshuffling.
Strong independent technological strength underpins Zhenhai Refining’s continuous industrial upgrading. The enterprise’s core competitiveness is fully demonstrated by the stable operation of two benchmark production units.
The No.2 ethylene unit has achieved a record safe and stable operation of 1,359 days, with a total output of nearly 6 million tons of products. Adopting Sinopec’s self-developed sequential separation process and fully domestically manufactured key equipment, the unit successfully breaks long-term foreign technological monopolies. In addition, the 400,000-ton-per-year acrylonitrile unit, put into operation in August, sets a new global record for the largest single-series production scale. Its one-time successful startup fully verifies the maturity of core technologies developed by Sinopec Shanghai Research Institute.
These technological breakthroughs deliver dual value for enterprises and the entire industry. For internal operation, independent technologies greatly reduce reliance on imported equipment and processes. The domestically developed operating system applied in the No.2 ethylene unit increases production control response speed by 30% and cuts operation and maintenance costs by 15%. For industrial development, these innovative achievements provide replicable high-end upgrading solutions for the refining and chemical sector. Covering acrylonitrile, high-end polyolefin and other core products, Zhenhai Refining converts technological advantages into product advantages, effectively filling the supply gap of high-end petrochemical materials in China’s market.
As the enterprise’s management emphasized, Zhenhai Refining strives to drive kinetic energy transformation through technological innovation and build an industrial structure compatible with green and low-carbon transformation.
Zhenhai Refining’s industrial upgrade is not a single-point improvement, but a multi-dimensional collaborative development covering equipment operation, industrial linkage and regional ecology. Internally, the propylene raw materials produced by the No.2 ethylene unit can be directly supplied to the downstream 3-million-ton-per-year polyolefin unit, realizing seamless connection between olefin production and polymer manufacturing.
At the industrial chain level, it replicates the mature “leading enterprise + supporting enterprises” collaborative model. Local supporting enterprises provide industrial cables, chemical equipment and other supporting supplies, integrating into Zhenhai’s production system and effectively reducing the overall operating cost of the industrial chain.
Furthermore, the enterprise adheres to a forward-looking layout of “high-tech innovation + green development”. Beyond energy consumption optimization through technological upgrading in production links, it actively expands new tracks of sustainable fuel production and circular economy. Continuous technological research on bio-jet fuel units accelerates the implementation of green production. The completed ecological closed loop of “production – environmental protection – circular utilization” not only supports China’s dual-carbon goals, but also supplies low-carbon raw materials for downstream industries including new energy vehicles and electronic information, realizing dimensional upgrading of industrial chain value.
Zhenhai Refining’s innovative practice provides three core enlightenments for the high-quality transformation of the traditional petrochemical industry. First, scale expansion must be synchronized with technological innovation. The core competitiveness of the 40-million-ton refining base originates from independent technologies that continuously improve product added value. Second, capital operation must precisely align with industrial development demands. The doubled registered capital and the capacity release of phase-II projects form positive interaction, avoiding ineffective capital circulation. Third, enterprises must replace single-point development thinking with ecological thinking, building strong risk resistance capacity through equipment collaboration, industrial linkage and green circular development.
Against the backdrop of dual pressures of carbon reduction and industrial upgrading in the refining and chemical industry, Zhenhai Refining’s development path is highly representative. It proves that traditional heavy industry is not contradictory to green development. Through continuous technological innovation and industrial ecological construction, traditional petrochemical enterprises can achieve the organic unity of scale advantage, green development and high-end upgrading.
From substantial capital empowerment and core technological breakthroughs to systematic industrial ecological construction, Zhenhai Refining, as a leading petrochemical giant, is writing a typical transformation answer for China’s petrochemical industry, driving the sector’s strategic shift from scale expansion to high-quality development.
