The Chinese group Shandong Yulong Petrochemical has started operations on the first phase of its Yulong Island Refinery and Petrochemical complex, located in Yantai, Shandong Province, eastern China. The first phase notably features a 200 kb/d (10 Mt/year) refining unit, whose construction had begun in 2020. A second 200 kb/d unit is under construction and will bring the total capacity of the refinery to 400 kb/d (20 Mt/year) once completed.
The Yulong project, the largest of its kind in Shandong, has an estimated cost of about CNY117bn (US$16bn). By replacing smaller refineries in Shandong, the project is expected to cut CO2 emissions by 4 to 5 MtCO2/year, according to Yulong Petrochemical.
China’s refining capacity has increased by 33% since 2010, reaching 17.3 mb/d at the end of 2023. There are around 65 refineries with a capacity of over 100 kb/d in the country.