PetroChina’s Hohhot Petrochemical branch has reportedly disclosed a social stability risk assessment for a new ethane and light-hydrocarbon-based ethylene project, along with downstream polyolefin facilities, in the Suligeqi Economic Development Zone of Wushen Banner, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Total investment is reportedly approximately RMB 19.856 billion (about $2.76 billion).
The project involves building an ethylene cracker using ethane and light hydrocarbons as feedstock, together with downstream polyolefin facilities. Preliminary feasibility studies and overall design are reportedly being handled by China Huanqiu Contracting & Engineering Corporation’s Beijing branch, a PetroChina-affiliated engineering firm, with EPC bidding expected to take place between late 2026 and the first half of 2027. The specific cracker process licensor has not been disclosed.
Total investment is reportedly approximately RMB 19.856 billion (about $2.76 billion). The ethylene capacity is planned at 1 million tons per year, with downstream facilities reportedly including 300,000 tons of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), two 400,000-ton low-density polyethylene (LDPE) units, 250,000 tons of polypropylene (PP), and a 50,000-ton butadiene extraction unit. Construction is reportedly planned over 24 months, from June 2027 to June 2029.
The project is reportedly part of a broader trend of expanding feedstock-based petrochemical complexes in China’s western interior regions, aiming to build up regional ethylene production capacity using light feedstocks such as ethane.
As feedstock-diversified ethylene projects continue to be advanced in China’s interior regions, the related EPC and engineering contract market is expected to expand accordingly.
Attention is on the outcome of the EPC bidding process expected between late 2026 and the first half of 2027, and whether actual construction begins on schedule.