On August 21, the tender for Package 1 of the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) Contract of the Tarho Refining Integrated Project was announced. This package covers the expansion and reconstruction of the 150,000 t/a No.1 Atmospheric Distillation Unit in the refinery area into the 500,000 t/a No.3 Atmospheric and Vacuum Distillation Unit, as well as the Central Control Room of the Refinery Area.

Project Overview and Tender Scope

Construction Location: Production site of Tarho Refining Company, Chemical Industrial Park, Kuqa City, Aksu Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.

Tender Package: 1 package.

Planned Construction Period: 912 days.

Estimated Contract Value: RMB 750 million (tax included).

Scope of Tender Package: Engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and related technical services for the expansion of the 150,000 t/a No.1 Atmospheric Distillation Unit, including:

(1) New 500,000 t/a No.3 Atmospheric and Vacuum Distillation Unit (maximum design pressure 4.0 MPa, maximum design temperature 420℃);

(2) Central Control Room of the Refinery Area;

(3) Temporary facilities (including water, electricity, steam, communication, roads, warehouses, office facilities, etc.).

On April 15, Sinopec Tarho Refining Co., Ltd. published the full Environmental Impact Assessment Report and public participation statement for the integrated project.

Project Name: Sinopec Tarho Refining Integrated Project

Construction Nature: Expansion and reconstruction

Construction Location: Chemical Industrial Cluster, Kuqa Economic and Technological Development Zone, Aksu, Xinjiang

Construction Scope and Scale: On the basis of the existing refining capacity of 5 million t/a, expand to 8.5 million t/a, and build new units including 800,000 t/a ethylene and 800,000 t/a aromatics production units.

In the existing refinery area, the following units are planned:3# 5 million t/a Atmospheric and Vacuum Distillation Unit,3# 2.2 million t/a Delayed Coking Unit,2.4 million t/a Hydrocracking Unit,

100,000 Nm³/h PSA Hydrogen Unit,4# 2×60,000 t/a Sulfur Recovery Units,2# 1 million t/a Aviation Kerosene Hydroprocessing Unit,2×2 million t/a Fluidized Bed Residue Hydroprocessing Units,1# 80,000 Nm³/h Hydrogen Production Unit.

In the new chemical plant area, the following units are planned:800,000 t/a Ethylene Unit,450,000 t/a Gasoline Hydrotreating Unit,100,000 t/a Butadiene Extraction Unit,100,000/30,000 t/a MTBE/Butene-1 Units ,1# 400,000 t/a Polyethylene Unit,2# 400,000 t/a Polyethylene Unit ,400,000 t/a Polypropylene Unit ,800,000 t/a Aromatics Complex ,2# 1.5 million t/a Continuous Reforming Unit.

At the same time, associated modifications or new construction of utilities, auxiliary facilities, storage and transportation facilities, environmental protection facilities, and off-site infrastructure will be implemented.

Annual Operating Hours: Refinery, Continuous Reforming, and Aromatics Complex: 8,400 hours; Chemical units: 8,000 hours

Construction Unit: Sinopec Tarho Refining Co., Ltd.

Expected Commissioning Date: Refinery and Aromatics Complex: June 2028; Ethylene Unit: October 2029

Sinopec Tahe Refining and Chemical Co., Ltd., located in Kuqa City, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, is Sinopec's only refining and chemical company in Xinjiang. It is jointly funded by Sinopec and Kuqa Asset Management Co., Ltd.

Tahe Refining and Chemical currently operates 16 production facilities, including atmospheric and vacuum distillation, delayed coking, natural gas hydrogenation, gasoline and diesel blended hydrogenation, continuous reforming and hydroisomerization, and jet fuel hydrogenation. The company boasts a primary processing capacity of 5 million tons/year at atmospheric pressure and 500,000 tons/year at vacuum distillation. All of these facilities process high-sulfur Tahe heavy crude oil, producing gasoline, diesel, asphalt, mixed xylenes/reformate oil, liquefied petroleum gas, petroleum coke, sulfur, and other products.