China's state-controlled Sinopec Engineering has signed an engineering and construction contract with ExxonMobil for the US firm's planned Huizhou petrochemical complex in south China.
The basic design, engineering, procurement and construction contract covers the first phase of the Huizhou chemical complex, Sinopec Engineering said. The contract covers all process units, utilities and infrastructure and is worth an estimated multi-billion dollars, the Chinese firm said, without giving more details.
The Huizhou project has yet to reach a final investment decision. ExxonMobil's planned investment was first announced in November 2017 and early construction work started in April last year with a targeted start-up date of 2023, although there has been little word of progress since then.
The complex in Guangdong province will include a 1.6mn t/yr flexible feed steam cracker and downstream polyethylene and polypropylene plants that will produce material used in packaging, automotive, industrial and consumer products.
ExxonMobil will own 100pc of the project, which is relatively unusual for a foreign investment in China. The company's presence in the country includes a 25pc joint venture stake in domestic refiner Sinopec's 240,000 b/d Fujian refinery and associated 800,000 t/yr ethylene steam cracker.
