Petrochemical Cooperation

Sinopec Sichuan Vinylon Works Group and South Korea's SK Chemicals Co. Ltd. signed a joint venture contract on February 25 in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to build a butanediol (BDO) facility with an annual production volume of 200,000 tons.

The project, which includes production facilities for acetylene, formaldehyde and BDO, as well as other support projects, will cost 3.8 billion yuan ($605 million).

Located in the Changshou Economic-Technological Development Area, the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2015.

Upon completion, the project is expected to realize an annual sales volume of 4 billion yuan ($642.4 million) and pay 1.4 billion yuan ($224.8 million) in taxes each year.

The BDO project is a milestone for Chongqing in becoming a global natural gas industrial base, said Huang Qifan, Mayor of Chongqing. The petrochemical industry, especially the natural gas chemical industry, is one of the six pillar industries in Chongqing.

Sinopec is China's top oil refiner. SK is the third largest conglomerate in South Korea, with energy and communications as its two major businesses.