Petchem demand to boost China’s 2H LPG imports

摘要

Chinese LPG imports are expected to rise signifcantly over the second half of this year owing to growing petrochemical demand as new facilities are brought on line. China’s LPG demand is forecast to nearly double to 1.3mn t/month in July- December from 756,000 t/month a year earlier, Argus estimates. This surge is the result of growing LPG feedstock requirements from six new projects that have, or are due to, come on line in the second half of 2020. Zhejiang Petrochemical (ZPC) and Zhejiang Huahong’s propane dehydrogenation (PDH) units opened in July. ZPC’s 600,000 t/yr unit was running at 80pc and bought 10,000t of propane from the market in August, while Zhejiang Huahong’s 450,000 t/yr facility was at 90pc of capacity and expected to use around 40,500t this month.