PetroChina Anqing Petrochemical plans to put its refining capacity expansion project into production in December 2012, a source with the refinery said.

The project includes the construction of a 5-mil-mt/yr crude distillation unit, a 2-mil-mt/yr fluid catalytic cracker, a 1.5-mil-mt/yr continuous catalytic reformer, an 800,000-mt/yr gasoline sweetening unit and a 1.5-mil-mt/yr S-zorb unit, the source introduced.

With the above units operational, a 1.5-mil-mt/yr CDU will be closed, according to the source.

Anqing Petrochemical will own 9-mil-mt/yr topping capacity by then; however, its secondary processing capacity is only 8-mil mt per year, including 2.3-mil-mt/yr gasoline sweetening capacity, the source said.

Sited in Anqing City, Central China's Anhui Province, Anqing Petrochemical has a crude processing capacity of 5.5-mil mt per year. Its oil products are mainly for the supply in Anhui and nearby Jiangxi Province.