On May 29, 2026, pile foundation drilling was carried out on the Gobi Desert in Wucai Bay, Zhundong. The methanol to olefin unit of Xinjiang Shanneng Chemical's 800000 tons/year coal to olefin project officially broke ground. This is a coal chemical heavy project with a total investment of nearly 20.9 billion yuan, and it is also another chess piece in the implementation of Xinjiang's strategy to reduce oil and increase chemical production.

13 sets of devices connect the entire chain from coal to olefins

The project is undertaken by Sinopec Engineering Construction Co., Ltd. (SEI) as the EPC general contractor, covering the main project, storage and transportation engineering, public works, environmental protection engineering, and supporting engineering, with a total of 13 sets of production facilities. The core process chain starts from air separation: three 75000Nm ³/h oxygen air separation units (two steam driven and one electric driven) provide oxygen for the entire plant; Next is a 2.2 million t/a methanol plant, using 657000 Nm ³/h of effective gas as raw material and supporting 20000 t/a sulfur recovery; Methanol enters the 2.2 million t/a MTO unit for conversion into olefins. After separation of 800000 t/a olefins, downstream it extends to 50000 t/a steam cracking, 15000 t/a C4 to 1-butene, 450000 t/a polypropylene, and 450000 t/a polyethylene units, forming a complete closed loop from coal to terminal chemicals.

20.9 billion investment in environmental protection, accounting for 8%

The total investment of the project is 20.858 billion yuan, of which the environmental protection investment is 1.667 billion yuan, accounting for 8.0% of the construction investment. The supervision department has established a daily inspection, special inspection, and key process monitoring mechanism in accordance with the requirements of reverse scheduling and full process supervision, to ensure dual control of quality and progress. Keywords: coal chemical industry, energy projects, coal to olefin projects

When the coal chemical industry shifts from large-scale to refined, the value of the Zhundong Industrial Park lies not only in its 800000 ton olefin production capacity, but also in its ability to transform Xinjiang's coal resources into high value-added chemicals on site, truly extending the depth of the energy industry chain.Editor/Cheng Liting