Petrochemical industry 2011 output estimated to rise 31%

It is expected that the output of China's petrochemical industry will show a year-on-year rise of 31 percent to 11.2 trillion yuan (US$1.7 trillion) in 2011 when figures for the full year are collated, said the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF) on Wednesday.

During the first 11 months of 2011, the output of large petrochemical enterprises increased 32.6 percent from a year earlier to 10.24 trillion yuan due to industrial upgrading, according to the CPCIF.

Analysts attributed the sound performance to increasing domestic demand, an accelerating process of industrial upgrade, improved energy efficiency and the rapid growth of non-state-owned enterprises.

From January to November, the output of non-state-owned enterprises surged 35.8 percent year-on-year to 5.12 trillion yuan, said Zhu Fang, an official with the CPCIF, adding that non-state-owned enterprises would, for the first time, account for more than half of the industry's full year output.

In 2012, the country's petrochemical industry would focus on technological innovation and new growth points including new materials, new energy and coal chemical engineering, according to Li Shousheng, the CPCIF's deputy director.

The CPCIF estimated that the output of the nation's petrochemical industry would rise over 20 percent year-on-year to more than 13 trillion yuan in 2012, with profits up 15 percent to around 950 billion yuan.