FPCL, Sinopec & Aramco Establish JV For Chinese Refining and PC Complex

Fujian Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (FPCL), Sinopec and Aramco have formed a joint venture, Fujian Aramco Re-fining and Petrochemical Co., to develop a large-scale integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Fu-jian Province, China, as per Polymerupdate.

The project, first announced last November, will in-clude a 16-million-t/y crude oil refining unit, a 1.5-million-t/y ethylene facility, paraxylene and down-stream derivatives capacity of 2-million t/y, and a 300,000-t/y crude oil terminal. Operations are expected to begin by the end of 2030.

FPCL, a 50-50 partnership between Sinopec and Fu-jian Petrochemical Industrial Group, holds an equity interest of 50% in the new joint venture, with Sinopec and Aramco each holding 25% stakes.

This project represents further progress in Ar-amco's strategic downstream expansion, which aims to capture additional value through both portfolio diversi-fication and business integration, said Aramco Down-stream President Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani.

We see significant petrochemical demand growth potential in China, and we are delighted to be an active participant in this key market.

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Bulgaria has assured Hungary that it will continue to ensure the transit of Russian gas to Hungary, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday, as per Interfax.

Szijjarto "said his Bulgarian counterpart assured him that Sofia will not put Hungary in a difficult situation, despite media reports on ending Russian gas transit in 2026," Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said on social media.

"Bulgaria will remain a reliable transit partner for Hungary in gas supplies," Kovacs reported Szijjarto as saying.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said on Wednesday that Bulgaria, as "a member of the EU, we will join the decision to suspend, in the short term, in 2026, contracts for the use or transit of Russian natural gas, and in the long term, by 2028."

Kovacs said Zhelyazkov was commenting on an EU initiative that at this point "is only a proposal, no decision has been made yet."

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Evonik Industries AG and AMSilk GmbH (Munich, Germany) have deepened their collaboration with a long-term agreement to produce sustainable silk proteins at industrial scale, according to an Evonik statement Sept. 25, as per Chemweek.

The partnership between them started in 2023.

The companies have commissioned a manufacturing line at Evonik’s Slovakian site for AMSilk’s high-performance silk, the company said, adding that AMSilk transforms the silk protein powder produced by Evonik into yarns.

AMSilk’s biomaterials are vegan, biodegradable, derived from renewable plant-based carbon, and leave no microplastics at the end of their lifecycle, Evonik said.

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Ineos Styrolution (Frankfurt), a subsidiary of Ineos Group Ltd. and a leader in styrenics, said in a statement Sept. 25 that it has received the first truckloads of recycled styrene monomer (SM) at its Antwerp site in Belgium, as per Chemweek.

The material was supplied by the new depolymerization plant of Indaver Holding NV (Mechelen, Belgium), Ineos Styrolution said. Indaver’s new plant, called Plastics2Chemicals (P2C), is located at Antwerp and is the first facility in Europe dedicated to polystyrene recycling, the company said.

The recycled SM enables the production of polystyrene and other styrenics, including for food-grade, transparent and medical applications, enhancing Styrolution’s sustainable styrenics portfolio that comprises mechanically recycled and bio-attributed grades, the company added.

“By converting hard-to-recycle plastics into virgin-quality feedstock such as styrene, we are closing the loop and offering a sustainable alternative to fossil resources,” said Erik Moerman, sales and development director P2C.

Depolymerization is more energy-efficient than other advanced recycling methods such as pyrolysis, Styrolutions said. It keeps the material in circulation, turning waste back into a valuable resource instead of landfill or litter, the company added.

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India is set to play a pivotal role in the evolving hydrogen economy, with significant commitments from its public sector undertakings (PSUs) in the oil and gas sector, said Hardeep Singh Puri, India's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, during a talk at the inaugural World Hydrogen India Summit in Delhi Sept. 25, as per Chemweek.

India will make sure that hydrogen is not just a fuel of the future but also a pillar of energy security, economic competitiveness and environmental stewardship, Puri said during the talk.

India's PSUs have announced plans to establish around 1 million metric tons per year of green hydrogen capacity by 2030, Puri said. This initiative underscores India’s strategic focus on sustainable energy solutions and its commitment to reducing carbon emissions, he said.

Indian energy sector PSUs have initiated tenders for a capacity of 170,000 metric tons per year under a “Build Own Operate” model to accelerate hydrogen production, according to Puri.

Meanwhile, India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission has made significant progress by awarding approximately 900,000 metric tons per year of green hydrogen production capacity to 19 companies, he said.

The National Green Hydrogen Mission is a government initiative that aims to establish the country as a global hub for green hydrogen production, usage and export.

In 2021, India set an ambitious target of producing 5 million metric tons of green hydrogen per year by 2030, supported by a strong policy framework and significant financial investment, Puri said. The government is also developing measures to bolster the manufacturing of electrolyzers and green hydrogen, Puri added.

According to India’s Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, a major financial initiative under the National Green Hydrogen Mission is the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT), which has an outlay of 174.9 billion Indian rupees ($1.9 billion). The SIGHT program allocates 44.4 billion rupees for domestic manufacturing of electrolyzers and 130.5 billion rupees for green hydrogen production.

For Dave Ernsberger, co-president at S&P Global Commodity Insights, India's National Green Hydrogen Mission is emerging as a crucial component of the global shift toward cleaner energy and energy independence.

Ernsberger said during his keynote address at the summit that India is a leader in the development of green hydrogen, and he highlighted the country’s renewable resources and asset base. He added that collaboration among the country’s private sector, public sector, government and traders is necessary to propel this rapidly growing industry forward.

The World Hydrogen India Summit, organized by S&P Global Commodity Insights, brings together senior executives, policymakers and investors to address the critical challenges and opportunities defining the sector’s trajectory.

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