Guangzhou (JLC), April 13, 2026--On April 3, 2026, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other top-tier ministries jointly released a comprehensive action plan to accelerate the upgrading of aging plants in the petrochemical sector in 2026-2029.
The action plan stipulates that the upgrading tasks for aging petrochemical plants, which had been determined by 2025, shall have been completed by 2029, while those determined starting from 2026 shall be advanced as planned.
The objectives also include a significant reduction in the safety and environmental risks of aging facilities; a concrete progress in the coordinated pollution and carbon reduction; a notable increase in the share of production capacity exceeding benchmark levels; and a substantial improvement in the intelligent and green development.
The plan has outlined six major tasks covering the whole-process management of upgrading efforts:
First, conduct surveys and assessments. Local authorities are required to identify and form a list of all the plants that have been in operation for over 20 years, which shall then be assessed against industrial policies, standards and norms, with disposal opinions put forward accordingly on new construction (rebuilding on the original site or relocating to a new site), renovation and upgrading, or phasing out, and documented in a standing book. Some units have not been operated for 20 years, but they can also be included in this book if provincial departments find renovation and upgrading necessary after assessments. Plants assessed and considered unnecessary for upgrading shall be rechecked every three years, while those that undergo upgrade shall be rechecked six years after the upgrading is completed.
Second, formulate upgrading schemes. A "one company, one policy" approach shall be followed to develop tailored roadmaps, which shall include upgrading measures, objectives, and schedules. In principle, the upgrade shall be finished within five years.
Third, promote quality improvement. Enterprises shall be encouraged to align with advanced industry standards when implementing safety, green and intelligent transformations. Application of leading technologies and update of industrial software and control systems shall be expedited. Entirely new projects shall be built to meet advanced levels under energy consumption limit standards or benchmark energy efficiency levels, as well as Grade A environmental performance. Projects involving high energy consumption and carbon emissions must implement equivalent or reduced energy consumption and carbon emission replacement.
Fourth, optimize project management. During the planning of major petrochemical projects, priority shall be given to the upgrading of outdated units related to oil refining, ethylene, paraxylene, methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), and coal-to-methanol production. Green channels shall be established to increase the audit and approval efficiency to make sure the projects are landed smoothly.
Fifth, conduct acceptance management. Upon completion of upgrade projects supported by the "one company, one policy" approach, completion acceptance shall be performed in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, which shall be supervised and verified by authorities responsible for ecology and environment, emergency management, etc.
Sixth, strengthen support and guidance with standards: To support and guide the upgrading efforts for the aging petrochemical units, a variety of standards shall be introduced to cover all requirements and every link, focusing on increased safety, green transformation, digital intelligent retrofitting, as well as enhancement of performance.
