The large-scale six-row VGR labyrinth compressor of Jiangsu Xiya has been successfully accepted for the Fujian SABIC Petrochemical - Gulei Ethylene Project, marking a significant breakthrough in the localization of high-end petrochemical equipment

Author:PECE-XY

On July 31, 2025, Jiangsu Xiya Petrochemical Equipment Co., Ltd. successfully conducted the factory acceptance test for the core dynamic equipment of the 550KTA (SABIC gas-phase process) polypropylene plant in the Fujian Gulei 1.5 MMTA ethylene project—the large-scale VGR compressor (large 6-row labyrinth compressor). The successful manufacturing and testing of this compressor marked a significant breakthrough in China's independent development of high-end petrochemical equipment.

The VGR compressor, which passed the acceptance test, is the core dynamic equipment undertaken by Jiangsu Xiya Petrochemical Equipment Co., Ltd. for the 550KTA (SABIC gas-phase process) polypropylene plant, which is the largest single-line production capacity in China. It was high technical difficulty and significant manufacturing challenges. Given the tight project schedule and the first-time application of the model in the SABIC process, the company attached great importance to the project, with General Manager Dai Xiaozhou personally leading the effort, organizing scientifically, and making a full-scale push to overcome difficulties. During the design and manufacturing stages, Jiangsu Xiya collaborated with the IPMT team of the owner Fujian SABIC Petrochemical Co., Ltd., the licensor, and the EPC contractor Hualu Engineering & Technology Co., Ltd. to form a joint risk management group. This group systematically identified, assessed, analyzed, and addressed potential risks, eliminating issues at the nascent stage and embedding the concept of "continuous improvement" throughout the entire process of design, blank forming, machining, and assembly.

At the acceptance ceremony, the owner representative from Fujian SABIC Petrochemical Co., Ltd. highly praised Jiangsu Xiya's contribution, stating that

"the timely and high-quality delivery of such large compressors (including offgas labyrinth compressor for the 400KTA (JPP gas-phase process) polypropylene plant delivered in June) is something that even international suppliers could not achieve."

The successful factory acceptance test of this compressor not only strongly supports the construction of the national major foreign-invested project—the Fujian Gulei Ethylene Project (a key project in the Sino-Saudi production capacity cooperation and a national major foreign-invested project)—but also serves as a vivid practice of China's manufacturing sector in achieving import substitution breaking international technical barriers, and ensuring the security of the industrial chain in the field of high-end petrochemical equipment. It also represents an important achievement in aligning the "Belt and Road" initiative with Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030."