Ethylene plant nears approval

Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical's RMB 20 billion proposed 1 million-tonne-capacity ethylene plant should be approved by China's State Council any day now, according to Chairman Sun Weijun, who reiterated the plan had already been endorsed by the National Development and Reform Commission in July. Sun made the comment after announcing a near two-thirds year on year profit increase in the company's first half, to RMB 1.22 billion. He said the new plant will take up to three years to complete once construction begins in late 2005. With an annual capacity of 850,000 tonnes, affiliate Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical remains China's largest ethylene maker and is now building a new 0.9 million-tonne-capacity plant in a joint venture with British Petroleum.