BASF (Guangdong) Commissions 500,000 t/y Polyethylene Plant, Marking Key Milestone at Zhanjiang Base

The 500,000-tonne-per-year polyethylene plant at BASF (Guangdong), delivered under an EPC contract by HuanQiu Engineering, has recently and successfully produced on-specification products. This achievement marks the smooth completion of the full process flow and the successful first-time start-up of the facility.

As a major cooperative project witnessed and signed by the Chinese and German Prime Ministers, the BASF (Guangdong) Integrated Base Project represents BASF's largest overseas investment to date. The successful commissioning of the polyethylene plant is expected to significantly strengthen the supply of high-end polyolefins in South China.

Located in the Donghai Island Petrochemical Industrial Park in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, the project was executed in strict accordance with globally unified construction management standards. All project documentation was prepared in English, with both design and construction simultaneously complying with BASF requirements, licensor specifications, and relevant domestic regulations. Mechanical completion was achieved through a systematic, subsystem-based approach. The commissioning of the facility marks the official entry of the BASF project base into its core production phase and demonstrates HuanQiu Engineering's project execution capabilities, reflecting both 'China Speed' and the influence of the 'HuanQiu Brand' in international chemical engineering construction.

The project was officially contracted and commenced on 15 December 2022 under an EPCC turnkey model. Mechanical completion was achieved on 28 September 2025, signifying the successful conclusion of construction and the formal transition of BASF's polyethylene facility into the commissioning stage.

The core facilities of BASF's Zhanjiang Integrated Site include a steam cracker with an annual ethylene production capacity of one million tonnes, together with multiple downstream units. The products are supplied to a wide range of industries, including automotive, construction, high-speed rail, electronics and appliances, food packaging, household and personal care, aerospace, and pharmaceuticals.

The overall construction scope further comprises 66,000/83,000/200,000 tonnes per year ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, and refined ethylene oxide units; a 215,000-tonne-per-year non-ionic surfactant unit; a 500,000-tonne-per-year polyethylene unit; two 190,000-tonne-per-year acrylic acid units; a 375,000-tonne-per-year butyl acrylate unit; a 100,000-tonne-per-year isooctyl acrylate unit; a 500,000-tonne-per-year butanol/octanol unit; a synthesis gas unit with a capacity of 50,000 standard cubic metres per hour; an 80,000-tonne-per-year (100% basis) neopentyl glycol unit; a 110,000-tonne-per-year formaldehyde unit; a 40,000-tonne-per-year citral unit; as well as associated utilities and auxiliary facilities. The project uses naphtha and n-butane as feedstocks to produce ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylene, cracked fuel oil, isobutylene, and other downstream products.