At the 2022 Petrochemical Industry Development Conference held on June 28, Sun Weishan, vice president of China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, released the 2022 Annual Key Petrochemical Product Capacity Warning Report.

The economic performance of China's petrochemical industry exceeded expectations in 2021, with major economic indicators growing substantially, according to the report. Among the 28 major petrochemical products monitored by the Petrochemical Federation, the capacity utilization rate of 21 products such as ethylene glycol and caustic soda has been improved, and the capacity utilization rate of 7 products such as ethylene and paraxylene has shown a downward trend, the main reason for the decline is that most of the newly built installations are put into operation in the second half of the year.

"Report" predicts that in 2022, China's refining capacity will reach 910 million tons/year, will become the world's largest refining country. However, with the promotion and application of new energy vehicles in China, the refined oil market will be further oversupplied. Basic petrochemical raw materials such as ethylene, propylene, ethylene glycol and paraxylene are still at their peak of production, and the supply gap of some products has narrowed. Caustic soda, soda ash, methanol, calcium carbide, 1,4 butanediol, titanium dioxide and other basic chemical raw materials that strictly control the growth of production capacity capacity utilization rate increased. In addition, the prosperity of the fertilizer industry has rebounded, the supply and demand of the nitrogen fertilizer market is balanced, and the excess capacity of phosphate fertilizer has been improved. Synthetic resins such as polyolefin and polycarbon are at the peak of capacity expansion, while PVC is still in excess capacity. The structural overcapacity of synthetic rubber is serious. The international competitiveness of polyurethane has increased, and the increase in exports has kept the plant operating rate at a high level.

Sun Weishan stressed that propylene, p-xylene, ethylene glycol, polycarbonate, titanium dioxide, BDO and degradable materials, lithium iron phosphate and other products, or will be put into operation with the completion of new projects, causing overcapacity problems. Under the downward pressure of the economy, petrochemical construction projects around the country have the trend of speeding up, investment tends to overheat, and it is necessary to be vigilant about a new round of overcapacity that may be triggered.

At the same time, the industry should attach great importance to the safety and environmental protection of the industry, establish a "red line consciousness", and resolutely prevent the recurrence of major accidents. It is also necessary to adhere to green sustainable and high-quality development, promote technological innovation and industrial structure upgrading, and promote the construction of a carbon circular economy system.