August 30, 2025 – Two core oversized pieces of equipment—an quench oil tower and an alkaline washing tower—have officially set off for their destination. The alkaline washing tower, with a diameter of 5.5 meters, a total length of 64.1 meters, and a total weight of 573 tons, is slated to take on the crucial task of being the first large-scale component to be hoisted for the project. Meanwhile, the quench oil tower, the equipment with the largest diameter in the project, boasts a diameter of 13.5 meters, a total length of 70.7 meters, and a total weight of 1,621 tons. Notably, the quench oil tower is a large-diameter thin-plate device, and the manufacturing team at Zhangjiagang Chemical Machinery Co., Ltd. (Zhanghua Machinery) demonstrated exceptional technical expertise during its production: the ovality of the 13.5-meter-diameter cylinder was controlled within 20 millimeters, and the levelness of the welded components for the internal tray across the entire circle did not exceed 5 millimeters.
According to insights from the Color Masterbatch Industry Network, the CNOOC Shell Huizhou Phase III Ethylene Project is a key initiative for China’s petrochemical industry upgrading. Once completed, it will rank among the world’s largest single-unit ethylene plants. Zhanghua Machinery has undertaken the manufacturing of 27 pieces of equipment for this project, and the two oversized units delivered this time will directly serve the core reaction system of the 1.6 million tons/year ethylene plant, providing critical support for the efficient operation of the entire project. With the smooth shipment of these two core pieces of equipment, the manufacturing process for the remaining 25 units will be accelerated in accordance with the established production schedule.
With a total investment of approximately 52.1 billion yuan, the project centers on a 1.6 million tons/year ethylene cracking unit and will include the construction of 18 chemical units, as well as related utility facilities and supporting infrastructure. Specifically, the project comprises: a 1.6 million tons/year ethylene unit, a 305,000 tons/year butadiene extraction unit, a 1.46 million tons/year pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation unit, a 1.1 million tons/year aromatics extraction unit, a 645,000 tons/year ethylene oxide-ethylene glycol (EO-EG) unit, a 600,000 tons/year metallocene linear low-density polyethylene (mLLDPE) unit, a 400,000 tons/year linear alpha-olefins (LAO) unit, a 130,000 tons/year isomerization and disproportionation (ID) unit, a 130,000 tons/year Shell hydroformylation (SHF) unit, a 50,000 tons/year polyalphaolefin (PAO) unit, a 500,000 tons/year polypropylene (PP) unit, a 1 million tons/year ethylbenzene (EB) unit, an 875,000/400,000 tons/year styrene-propylene oxide (SM-PO) unit, a 450,000 tons/year polyether polyol (DMC-POD) unit, a 100,000 tons/year polymer polyol (POP-POD) unit, and a 270,000/80,000 tons/year MTBE/1-butene unit. The completion of these units will further improve the local petrochemical industrial chain and enhance China’s competitiveness in the field of high-end petrochemical products.