Zhoushan, China, revealed that it has held talks with oil giant Exxon Mobil, and plans to build a $7 billion ethylene plant in Zhoushan.
Zhoushan said in a statement on Wednesday that the new plant will have an annual production capacity of 1.5 million to 1.8 million tons. It is said that after the project is completed, the scale will exceed Exxon Mobil Corp in Guangdong Province. Huizhou City's annual production capacity of 1.2 million tons of factory projects.
China is the world's largest consumer of chemicals, and China is embarking on the largest petrochemical production expansion plan in its history.
The expansion project plans to build at least 13 ethylene production bases in the next five years.
The move will also include allowing more of the world's largest chemical companies to enter their vast chemical markets to produce plastics, coatings and adhesives for their fast-growing consumer industries.
Exxon Mobil said last month that it has signed a preliminary agreement to build a petrochemical production base in China, including an ethylene plant in Huizhou.
At the same time, the company agreed to participate in a provincial project to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal receiving station in the city and supply it with LNG, but did not disclose details such as specific time.
Exxon Mobil also works with Sinopec, China's largest state-owned oil refiner, and holds a 25% stake in a refinery and petrochemical plant in Fujian Province.
Zhoushan is located about 145 kilometers (90 miles) south of Shanghai, east of Ningbo Port. Zhoushan said that it hopes to attract more investment in downstream chemicals.
The company said it is very interested in cooperating with the local refining company Zhejiang Petrochemical to build a refinery and petrochemical production base with an annual production capacity of 20 million tons.
The Zhoushan Municipal Government also said it is negotiating with Honeywell, a US-based catalyst, for a catalyst production project with an annual capacity of 10,000 tons.