Sinopec, Qatar Petroleum sign MOU on new ethylene plant

China's Sinopec Group has inked a MOU with Qatar Petroleum International (QPI) to jointly build an ethylene plant in China, sources reported.

The new plant is expected to start production in 2013 with an annual production capacity of 700,000 to 800,000 tons of ethylene a year, according to Nasir Jaidah, QPI's Managing Director.

Jaidah also noted that Qatar will be supplying the condensate feedstock for the plant, but the two sides have not decided the exact location of the plant.

The new plant will be QPI's first investment in China, whose demand for ethylene is about 24 million tons a year.

Currently, China produces about 10 million tons of ethylene a year.