Dongying Port Energy Storage & Transport Co., Ltd. is advancing a crude oil tank farm project with a total investment of 3.021 billion yuan in the Dongying Port Economic Development Zone in Shandong Province, China, according to a disclosure. The tank farm, to be built with a capacity of 2.4 million cubic meters, will consist of 24 floating-roof tanks of 100,000 cubic meters each, arranged in six tank groups, with preliminary work having begun in June 2026 and completion targeted for December 2029. The project is part of Dongying Port’s plan to build an “energy security center” oriented toward an integrated refining-petrochemical complex, and is reported to serve as the feedstock supply foundation for a large-scale follow-on petrochemical cluster nearby.
Details of the crude oil tank farm became known through a social stability risk analysis disclosure on August 17, 2026, and the facility is being built as feedstock storage and logistics infrastructure for the integrated refining-petrochemical project within the Dongying Port Economic Development Zone. The 24 floating-roof tanks of 100,000 cubic meters each will be arranged in six tank groups, for a total storage capacity of 2.4 million cubic meters. The project is reported to serve as foundational infrastructure to ensure a stable crude oil supply for a large-scale follow-on petrochemical cluster being pursued nearby by Fuhai Group (15 million tons per year of refining capacity, 3 million tons per year of PX (Paraxylene), and 2 million tons per year of ethylene). No specific licensed technology has been identified as applied to the project, which is characterized as general-purpose crude oil storage infrastructure.
The total investment for the tank farm itself is 3.021 billion yuan, and it will be built with a capacity of 2.4 million cubic meters (24 floating-roof tanks of 100,000 cubic meters each, arranged in six tank groups). Preliminary work began in June 2026, the social stability risk analysis was disclosed on August 17 of the same year, and completion is targeted for December 2029. Separately, the total investment for Fuhai Group’s follow-on petrochemical cluster linked to this tank farm (15 million tons/year of refining, 3 million tons/year of PX, and 2 million tons/year of ethylene) is reported at 75.7 billion yuan.
The tank farm project is interpreted as a foundational undertaking in a regional energy security infrastructure strategy aimed at developing Dongying Port into an integrated refining and petrochemical hub. Building feedstock storage and logistics infrastructure ahead of a large downstream petrochemical cluster is regarded as a conventional sequencing step in the development of integrated refining-petrochemical complexes.
Ordering crude oil storage infrastructure as a separate, preceding project ahead of large petrochemical complex development is a pattern that has recurred in recent integrated refining-petrochemical complex development in China, reflecting a strategy of securing feedstock supply chain stability before proceeding with downstream production facility investment. Such tank farm and terminal infrastructure represents a separate ordering opportunity for equipment suppliers and EPC firms providing tank fabrication, piping, and floating-roof equipment, and aligns with a recent ordering trend in which storage infrastructure is procured ahead of the final investment decision (FID) for large downstream cracker and refinery projects. Shandong Province is a region with a dense concentration of private “teapot” refiners in China, and this project can be seen as an extension of the broader trend of upgrading regional refining-petrochemical clusters there. Because expanded crude storage capacity is directly linked to the operational stability of downstream petrochemical complexes, trends in related logistics and storage infrastructure investment can also serve as a leading indicator for gauging the progress of downstream projects.
Whether the tank farm’s targeted completion date of December 2029 is met is the primary point to watch. The progress of the final investment decision and permitting for the linked 75.7 billion yuan follow-on petrochemical cluster (refining, PX, and ethylene) by Fuhai Group also warrants continued attention. As tank farm construction proceeds in earnest, whether additional orders follow for tank fabricators and suppliers of piping and instrumentation equipment is also of interest. The progress of other refining-petrochemical infrastructure projects underway in the Dongying Port area is likewise noted as a point to watch.