Fujian Gulei Refining Phase II: 71.1 billion Yuan Sino-Saudi Cooperation Project Reshapes South China Petrochemical Territory

Project Background and Ownership Structure

on November 17, 2025, Fujian Sino-Arab Refining and Chemical Co., Ltd. was officially listed in Gulei, Zhangzhou, marking that Sinopec's largest single investment project to date has entered the substantive operation stage. The project, with a total investment of 71.1 billion yuan, is located in Gulei Economic Development Zone of Zhangzhou City and is planned to be put into full operation in 2030.

The shareholding structure reflects the strategic depth of Sino-Saudi energy cooperation: Fujian Refinery holds 50%, Sinopec 25%, and Saudi Aramco's Aramco Asia Singapore 25%. Saudi Aramco's participation not only brings financial and technical support, but more importantly, it locks in a long-term stable source of crude oil supply for the project, which is critical to the operational stability of large-scale integrated refining and chemical projects.

Capacity scale and plant configuration

the project adopts the mode of "refining and chemical integration", and is equipped with 11 sets of oil refining devices and 19 sets of chemical devices, forming a complete closed loop of industrial chain.

The oil refining section takes 16 million tons/year atmospheric and vacuum distillation unit as the core, and is equipped with deep processing units such as 4.2 million tons of diesel hydrocracking, 3.7 million tons and 2 million tons of wax oil hydrocracking, 3 million tons of delayed coking, etc., to realize efficient conversion and clean utilization of crude oil.

The chemical sector revolves around the 1.5 million-ton/year steam cracking unit and extends downstream to form three major product clusters: first, polyolefin clusters -400000 tons of full density polyethylene, 400000 tons of high density polyethylene and 400000 tons of linear low density polyethylene, with a total production capacity of 1.2 million tons of polyethylene; Second, functional material clusters -300000 tons of EVA, 200000 tons of acrylonitrile and 50000 tons of SAP super absorbent resin; Third, aromatics and derivatives cluster-two 3 million tons of catalytic reforming extraction combined unit with 2 million tons of aromatics combined unit, the production of xylene, benzene and other basic aromatics. In addition, 600000 tons of butyl octanol, 16/190000 tons of acrylic acid/acrylate and other devices further enrich the product matrix.

Market Impact and Business Opportunities

from the perspective of supply and demand pattern, the project will have a structural impact on the South China petrochemical market. The new production capacity of 1.5 million tons of ethylene will increase China's olefin self-sufficiency rate, and the production capacity of 1.2 million tons of polyethylene will significantly alleviate the situation of long-term dependence on imports and transportation from the north to the south. The timing of 300000 tons of EVA production capacity is in line with the rapid development of the photovoltaic industry, which is expected to change the passive pattern of domestic EVA photovoltaic materials relying on imports.

For overseas traders and supply chain practitioners, the following changes need to be focused on: imports of polyolefins in South China may decline and the regional price system is facing restructuring; trade flows and pricing benchmarks for products such as EVA, acrylics and esters, and aromatics may be adjusted. It is suggested to evaluate the market changes around 2030 in advance, grasp the procurement opportunities of equipment and catalysts during the construction period of the project, and the possibility of cooperation with Fujian Sino-Arab Refinery in raw material supply and product sales after production.