Recently, the transformation and upgrading project of Qilu Petrochemical located in Zibo, Shandong has made significant progress - the first unit of the project has successfully passed the completion acceptance in February 2026. The achievement of this important milestone means that the 10 million ton integrated refining and chemical project with a total investment of 24.4 billion yuan has officially transformed from a planning blueprint into actual results, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent construction and comprehensive production of the project.

Project Overview

The Qilu Petrochemical Transformation and Upgrading Project, as a key project jointly promoted by Shandong Province and Sinopec, is located in Linzi District, Zibo City. The total investment of this project is 24.4 billion yuan, and the core construction tasks include building a new 10 million tons/year oil refining unit, a 1 million tons/year ethylene unit, and supporting the construction of downstream high-end chemical new material production units. The overall project follows the core design concept of "reducing oil and increasing oil production", while maintaining the original crude oil processing scale, significantly reducing the production of finished oil products, and focusing on the production of high value-added chemical products such as ethylene, propylene, aromatic hydrocarbons, various synthetic resins, synthetic rubber, etc. After the project is fully completed, Qilu Petrochemical will build a complete industrial chain integrating refining, ethylene, and high-end materials, becoming a pivotal refining and chemical integration base in North China, providing strong support for the stable supply of chemical raw materials and terminal materials in the region.

The first set of equipment has been completed

In February 2026, the first set of equipment for the project successfully passed the completion acceptance, and this achievement cannot be achieved without the unremitting efforts of the construction team. Since the start of the project, the construction team has faced many challenges such as tight schedule, heavy tasks, and high technical difficulty. They have strictly controlled various aspects such as design, procurement, and construction to ensure that the project quality, safety, and environmental protection indicators meet the standards. The successful completion of the first set of devices not only verified the rationality and scientificity of the overall project promotion plan, but also accumulated valuable experience and set a demonstration benchmark for the subsequent construction of dozens of devices.

At present, the construction progress of other devices in the project is accelerating according to the established plan, and some core equipment has entered the installation and commissioning stage. With the successful delivery of the first set of equipment, the overall project is expected to achieve full production in the early stage of the 15th Five Year Plan. As a key project for the transformation and upgrading of traditional refining enterprises, technological innovation and green low-carbon concepts run through the entire process of project construction. The new device will adopt internationally leading process technologies such as catalytic cracking, hydrocracking, and steam cracking, and the energy consumption and emission indicators per unit product will be better than the current national standards. At the same time, the project has built efficient facilities for the treatment of waste gas, wastewater, and solid waste, which can fully meet the requirements of ultra-low emissions. In terms of carbon reduction, the project has also reserved a carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) interface in advance, which can further reduce carbon emission intensity according to actual needs in the future. These measures not only actively respond to the national dual carbon strategy deployment, but also provide practical examples for the green transformation of old industrial bases.

Assist Zibo

For Zibo, an old industrial city, the transformation and upgrading project of Qilu Petrochemical has extraordinary significance. As an important national petrochemical base, Zibo City has been continuously making efforts in recent years to promote the transformation of traditional industries towards high-end, green, and intelligent directions. The total investment of this project is 24.4 billion yuan. After completion, it will directly drive thousands of people to achieve employment, while also promoting the coordinated development of downstream industries such as fine chemicals, new materials, plastic processing, and logistics transportation. It is expected to form an industrial cluster increment of tens of billions of yuan. Keywords: Petrochemical, Zibo, Shandong, Refining Project

Zibo City will also rely on the raw material advantages of Qilu Petrochemical to plan and construct a high-end chemical industry park, attract more high-quality enterprises to settle in, and make every effort to create a new highland for the refining industry in the central Shandong region. The completion acceptance of the first set of equipment is a new starting point for the development of the project. With the gradual deployment of 10 million tons of refining, 1 million tons of ethylene, and other supporting units, Qilu Petrochemical will achieve a strategic transformation from fuel based to material based, and its core competitiveness and risk resistance capabilities will be significantly enhanced. At the same time, this project will also inject strong momentum and make important contributions to the goal of building a strong province in the high-end chemical industry in Shandong Province.Editor/Gong Ziwei