The Linde Group and Sinopec subsidiary conclude long-term agreement on industrial gases supply in Chongqing, China

07-Apr-2009 - China

The Linde Group has secured a contract with Sinopec Sichuan Vinylon Works (SVW) to jointly build gas plants and produce industrial gases for the long-term supply to SVW's chemical complex. This collaboration will result in an initial investment of approximately EUR 50 million.

This partnership will establish a 50:50 joint venture between Linde Gas (Hong Kong) Limited and SVW in Chongqing Chemical Industrial Park (CCIP) by June 2009. SVW in Chongqing is mainly engaged in producing natural gas-based chemical and chemical fibre products, and is currently expanding its vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) production capabilities.

"This joint venture firmly casts Linde's geographical footprint in Western China," said Dr Aldo Belloni, member of the Executive Board of Linde AG. "Chongqing is a new territory for Linde, and our continued collaboration with Sinopec is a further example of our long-term growth strategy in China, underpinning our leading position in the Chinese gases market that continues to register a growth momentum in spite of the global economic downturn."

In the first phase of development under this Linde-SVW partnership, a new air separation plant with a capacity of 1,500 tonnes per day of oxygen will be constructed to produce and supply gases by 2011 to SVW's new 300,000 tons/year VAM plant. This air separation plant will be built and delivered by Linde's Engineering Division. In the long-term, the joint venture is intended to expand the capacities of air gases and also construct synthetic gas (HyCO) plants to meet the overall gases demand by SVW and its associated companies.

SVW is 100% owned by China Petrochemical & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and has the largest natural gas-based chemical complex in China. SVW's existing products include vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), methanol (MeOH), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and ammonium. SVW's total investment for its VAM expansion project in CCIP is estimated to be EUR 580 million. SVW's VAM expansion project will include the construction of an acetylene plant unit, which employs a partial oxidation technology that requires oxygen.

VAM is an essential chemical building block used in a wide variety of industrial and consumer products. VAM is a key ingredient in emulsion polymers, resins, and intermediates used in paints, adhesives, textiles, wire and cable polyethylene compounds, laminated safety glass, packaging, automotive plastic fuel tanks and acrylic fibers.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/99417/the-linde-group-and-sinopec-subsidiary-conclude-long-term-agreement-on-industrial-gases-supply-in-chongqing-china.html