2026-10-16
- Huajin Aramco Petrochemical, a Chinese-Saudi joint venture (JV), received its first cargo of Arabian crude at its Panjin complex in Liaoning Province, according to a company statement dated 2026-10-09.
- The project comprises a 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery, 1.65 million metric tons per year (tpy) of ethylene and 2 million tpy of paraxylene (PX).
- The company describes the project as being in a “pre-production preparation phase”; startup was reportedly pushed from May-June to September or early October.
- It is reported that China’s state-owned Zhenhua Oil booked 2 million barrels of Saudi crude for August loading.
- Jia Fei, chairman of Panjin Xincheng, said the project supports higher-value products and fine chemicals, stronger refining-chemicals integration, and Panjin’s goal of becoming a national petrochemical and fine chemicals base.
Huajin Aramco Petrochemical, a Chinese-Saudi joint venture (JV) building an integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Panjin, Liaoning Province, has received its first cargo of Arabian crude, according to a company statement dated 2026-10-09. The news was reported by Hydrocarbon Processing in October 2026. It is reported that the company describes the project as being in a “pre-production preparation phase”. The complex is known to comprise a 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery, 1.65 million metric tons per year (tpy) of ethylene capacity and 2 million tpy of paraxylene (PX) capacity. This article summarizes the confirmed facts on the project, its scale, its schedule and its background.
Huajin Aramco Petrochemical is a Chinese-Saudi joint venture that is to operate a refining and petrochemical complex in Panjin, Liaoning Province, in northeast China. The latest report does not disclose the ownership shares of the partners. However, according to an Aramco announcement dated 2023-03-26, the project was described as a greenfield integrated refinery and petrochemical complex involving Aramco, NORINCO Group and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group, with shares reported as 30 percent for Aramco, 51 percent for NORINCO Group and 19 percent for Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group. The complex is known to combine a refinery, a steam cracker (a unit that thermally breaks down feedstocks such as naphtha into ethylene and other basic petrochemicals) and a PX unit.
According to the company statement, the first crude receipt forms part of the “pre-production preparation phase”. Integrated refining and petrochemical complexes generally move from mechanical completion to crude receipt, commissioning and stabilized operation before commercial production begins. The latest news corresponds to the stage at which feedstock arrives at the site, although a specific startup date has not been disclosed.
Jia Fei, chairman of Panjin Xincheng, is reported to have said that the project supports the expansion of higher-value products and fine chemicals. He also reportedly said it advances stronger integration of refining and chemicals and Panjin’s ambition to build a nationally recognized petrochemical and fine chemicals industry base.
Numbers
According to the report, the facility has the following capacities.
- Refining capacity: 300,000 bpd (barrels per day)
- Ethylene: 1.65 million tpy (metric tons per year)
- PX (paraxylene): 2 million tpy
A refining capacity of 300,000 bpd means the refinery can process 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Ethylene, at 1.65 million tpy, is a basic building block for polyethylene and many other plastics and chemicals. PX, at 2 million tpy, is a raw material used for polyester fibers and PET resin.
On supply, it is reported that China’s state-owned Zhenhua Oil booked 2 million barrels of Saudi crude for loading in August to supply the joint venture, according to media reports. The 2023 Aramco announcement also said that Aramco would supply up to 210,000 bpd of crude feedstock to the complex. The total investment has not been disclosed in the latest report.
Timeline
- 2023-03-26 — Aramco announces the planned start of construction of the Huajin Aramco Petrochemical (HAPCO) complex, with construction due to begin in the second quarter of 2023 and full operation expected by 2026.
- 2026-10-09 — The company issues a statement on the first Arabian crude receipt, saying the project is in a “pre-production preparation phase”.
- 2026-10-14 — Hydrocarbon Processing publishes the news.
Note
- PX (paraxylene): An aromatic compound that serves as a basic raw material for polyester fibers and PET resin.
- bpd (barrels per day): A unit showing the number of barrels of crude oil processed or produced per day, commonly used to express refinery capacity.