Oil major ExxonMobil has made a final investment decision to proceed with a multibillion-dollar chemical complex at the Daya Bay Petrochemical Industrial Park in China's southern province of Guangdong. The complex will produce performance polymers used in packaging, automotive and agricultural industries, as well as consumer products for hygiene and personal care.

“Demand for performance polymers will continue to increase in China, and we’re well positioned to meet the needs of that growing market,” says Karen McKee, president of ExxonMobil Chemical Company. “We look forward to progressing this exciting project as we work to build a competitive growth platform in Dayawan.”

The facility supports China’s national petrochemical development priorities, which include self-sufficiency, diversified feedstock sources and advancing new competitive technologies. Construction is underway on the greenfield project, which includes a flexible feed steam cracker, three performance polyethylene lines, and two differentiated performance polypropylene lines.

The steam cracker will have a nameplate capacity of approximately 1.6 million metric tonnes per year. ExxonMobil is prioritizing near-term capital investments in assets with the highest potential value and ability to generate attractive shareholder returns. These include chemicals projects to grow high-value performance products by 60% by 2027.

Besides the chemical complex in China, a joint venture between ExxonMobil and Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) in San Patricio County, Texas, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures, is also in the process of starting up.

Texas-based ExxonMobil has been operating in China for more than a century.