China will retain Paraxylene prices in a stable position, particularly during the summer months, due to a move to forbid the use of methyl tert-butyl ether as a gasoline oxygenate in the USA and the restrictions on the supply and delivery of ethanol. This will lead to an increase in demand for aromatics, including xylenes used for gasoline blending in the summer months. Increased consumption of polyester has also contributed to increased demand and margins, driving manufacturers to add further capacities.
Paraxylene capacity in the country is expected to be more then double by 2012 to 10.2 mln tpa. China has recently finished constructing an aromatics complex in Qindao which comprises a 700,000 tpa paraxylene plant. Sinopec Jinling Petrochemicals 600,000 tpa factory in Nanjing, China and Yisheng Dahua Petrochemicals 450,000 tpa facility in Dalian, China are expected to start by the end of 2008.
If the projects under construction do not get delayed, global Paraxylene capacity is expected to increase by about 50% pa to 42.6 mln tpa by 2012, if there is no delay in projects that are slated to start up. China is estimated to achieve the highest growth rate for paraxylene globally.
06-Apr-07 
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