Overcapacity Looms Large in Some of China’s Petrochemical Sub-Sectors
May 29th, 2009China’s petrochemical industry faces an overcapacity problem in some sub-sectors, according to statistics from China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association (CPCIA ).
The operating rates of equipment in the ethylene, sodium carbonate, caustic soda, carbide, polyvinyl chloride, methanol and phosphate and refining sectors all ran below capacity in April.
Feng Shiliang, vice secretary of CPCIA, suggested that producers increase efforts to write down outdated capacity, quicken restructuring and update existing capacity with advanced technology to a void a blind expansion.
The following table shows the operating rate of these sectors in April. Sub-sectors Operating rate Ethylene 92% sodium carbonate 85% caustic soda 79% Carbide 63% polyvinyl chloride 54% Methanol 50% Phosphate 62% Refining 79%.
Source: Xinhua News Agency via COMTEX.