China's Hengli Petrochemical is planning to add another two 2.5mn t/yr purified terephthalic acid (PTA) production unit in south China, with operations scheduled to start at the end of 2021.

Hengli will invest about 11.5bn yuan ($1.69bn) to build the units in the Daya bay petrochemical park at Huizhou in Guangdong province, subject to governmental approvals.

The two units will take Hengli's total PTA production capacity to 16.6mn t/yr, making it China's top producer ahead of current market leader Yisheng Petrochemical. Hengli currently operates five PTA production units in Dalian, the site of its 400,000 b/d Changxing Island refinery.

The company intends to put up Yn3.18bn in cash and finance the remaining costs of the new units through bank loans.

Hengli's announcement adds to a flurry of investments by private-sector Chinese companies in already oversupplied PTA and downstream polyethylene terephthalate (PET) markets. Rival producers including Yisheng, Sanfangxiang Petrochemical and Dongying United Petrochemical have all announced plans to expand production capacity in the last month.

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Source : Argus

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