China to permanently shut old and inefficient refineries and petchem units

The Chinese government on Thursday, 21 October 2021 has set the energy efficiency goals for energy-intensive industries for 2025 asking companies in the steel, aluminum, cement, oil refining, and petrochemical sectors to upgrade their production processes to meet tighter energy efficiency standards by 2025. 

In a statement published on the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) website, the authorities said that the country will further lift energy efficiency standards to reduce carbon emission and expect more industries to comply with the new regulations. The government has also outlined how much industries must cut their energy consumption. 

Besides, the following companies must cease operations before 2025:

-       Crude oil refineries with a processing capacity of less than 2 million tons/year, or 40,000 barrels/day.

-       Single carbide furnace capacity of less than 12,500 KVA and open-space carbide furnace.

-       Carbide plants with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons and below.

-       Ethylene cracker with an annual output of 300,000 tons and below.

The government will no longer approve new projects for: 

-       Crude distillation unit with capacity below 10 million tons per annum

-       Catalytic cracking unit below 1.5 million tons per annum

-       Continuous catalytic reforming unit below 1 million tons per annum, including aromatics extraction.

-       Hydrocracking unit below 1.5 million tons per annum

-       Naphtha cracking below 800,000 tons per annum