Abstract
The 83.7 billion-yuan Huajin Aramco refining and chemical integration project is stepping up full-scale commissioning in 2026.
The project deploys 32 production units including 15MM t/a refining and 1.65MM t/a ethylene production facilities.
A 950,000-ton annual polyethylene capacity will deliver substantial new supply to China’s plastic market.
It will intensify general-grade PE supply surplus while boosting high-end domestic substitution and industrial upgrading.
The project builds a sales network covering Northeast China, nationwide regions and global overseas markets.
1. Project Overview and Joint Venture Background
Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (HAPCO) was officially established on December 31, 2019.
The joint venture involves three shareholders with clear and standardized equity ratio allocation.
Huajin Group holds 51%, Saudi Aramco takes 30% and Panjin Xincheng owns 19% equity stakes.
The three parties signed official cooperation agreements and launched operation in March 26, 2023.
The mega integrated project boasts a total investment of 83.7 billion Chinese Yuan in Panjin, Liaoning.
It covers 32 complete process units for refining, ethylene and PX production and supporting facilities.
Core configurations include 15MM t/a refining and 1.65MM t/a ethylene production capacities.
A 2MM t/a PX production unit and full auxiliary utilities support integrated chemical production.
The project plans phased commissioning in H1 2026 and full operational startup by end-2026.
2. Key Construction Milestones and Commissioning Progress
The core 1.65MM t/a ethylene unit completed mechanical completion on December 25, 2025.
This milestone marked full mechanical finish of all 32 major production process units.
Seven key units achieved handover within 72 hours in March 2026 to accelerate progress.
Multiple units including 300KT/A HDPE successfully completed handover by May 2026.
The entire project has entered the final sprint stage for full-scale operational launch.
Phased material feeding and trial runs will start in the first half of 2026 as scheduled.
3. Global Sales Layout and Market Coverage Strategy
HAPCO adopts a three-tier sales layout covering local, national and global markets.
It focuses on Northeast China while radiating North and East China and expanding overseas.
Multimodal transportation including road, railway and shipping supports domestic delivery.
As a landmark project, it empowers industrial upgrading of Northeast China’s old industrial base.
It serves as a core raw material supplier for Panjin and surrounding petrochemical clusters.
Panjin’s superior port and transportation resources enable efficient North China coverage.
It effectively covers Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Shandong’s high-demand petrochemical markets.
East China’s manufacturing clusters act as strategic high-consumption markets for PE products.
Saudi Aramco’s global resources support the project’s long-term overseas market layout.
The firm will export products globally after obtaining official national export quotas.
4. Polyethylene Product Matrix and Advanced Production Technology
The integrated project focuses on high-quality HDPE and LLDPE core production capacities.
It processes imported Saudi light and heavy crude oil for stable raw material supply chains.
Massive ethylene output supports downstream production of high-value chemical products.
The FDPE unit introduces advanced mature Unipol production technology from overseas.
It uses ethylene and hydrogen as raw materials and butene-1 or hexene-1 as copolymers.
Isopentane serves as the solvent to ensure stable and efficient polymerization reaction.
HDPE products cover film, blow molding, injection molding and pipe-grade materials.
Specialized single-filament HDPE grades meet customized industrial production demands.
LLDPE product lines include film grade, injection grade and metallocene-modified materials.
5. Differentiated Competition and High-End Industrial Layout
HAPCO builds market barriers via high-end mPE and UHMWPE premium product lines.
It targets high-end sectors including aerospace, electronics and military industries.
High-value product positioning avoids fierce homogenized competition in general PE markets.
High-performance polyethylene products fill domestic gaps in high-end application fields.
The differentiated strategy drives structural upgrading of China’s PE industry chain.
6. 2026 Market Impact and Supply Pattern Changes
China’s PE market will witness 5.5MM tons of new capacity release throughout 2026.
HAPCO’s 950KT/A new PE capacity becomes a core incremental supply source.
500KT/A HDPE capacity will further loosen domestic high-density polyethylene supply.
450KT/A FDPE capacity increases LLDPE spot supply and puts pressure on market prices.
Intensified market competition will suppress short-term profit margins of general PE products.
7. Industrial Restructuring and Long-Term Development Trends
The project intensifies competition among major refineries in the Bohai Bay Rim region.
It competes with Hengli Petrochemical and Yulong Petrochemical for regional market shares.
High-end PE products accelerate domestic substitution of imported foreign materials.
It breaks overseas monopoly in high-performance polyethylene application scenarios.
HAPCO’s cost and technology advantages establish new industry pricing benchmarks.
Leading petrochemical firms with scale edges will expand overall market occupancy.
Small-scale and outdated backward PE capacities will face elimination and industry reshuffle.
The project promotes high-quality and standardized development of China’s petrochemical sector.
