{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-18/petrochina-dalian-refinery-restart","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-18/petrochina-dalian-refinery-restart.md","title":"PetroChina to Restart Dalian Refinery Unit in November","headline":"PetroChina to Restart Mothballed Dalian Crude Unit in November, Processing 500,000-600,000 Tons Monthly","description":"PetroChina will restart a mothballed crude unit at its Dalian refinery in November, processing 500,000-600,000 metric tons monthly to rebuild domestic fuel stocks.","section":"Expansion","published_at":"2026-10-18T19:26:21+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-18T19:26:21+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["PetroChina will restart a 200,000 bpd crude distillation unit at its Dalian refinery in November 2026, processing 500,000-600,000 metric tons of crude monthly.","The unit was shut in July 2025 along with the entire 410,000-barrel-per-day Dalian Petrochemical refinery.","Operations are expected to cease in March 2029 when a new $10 billion refinery complex comes online."],"companies":[{"name":"PetroChina","is_primary":true,"profile_url":null,"website":"http://www.petrochina.com.cn/ptr"}],"source":{"publisher":"Gulf Times","title":"PetroChina said to restart part of shuttered Dalian refinery in November","url":"https://www.gulf-times.com/article/736079/business/petrochina-said-to-restart-part-of-shuttered-dalian-refinery-in-november"},"other_sources":[{"publisher":"Devdiscourse","url":"https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/3989902-venezuela-looking-to-sign-105-oil-contracts-by-end-of-year-head-of-pdvsa"},{"publisher":"News","url":"https://www.qcintel.com/article/japan-s-idemitsu-restarts-keihin-cdu-after-six-month-turnaround-75291.html"}],"tags":["Expansion","PetroChina"],"body_markdown":"PetroChina is preparing to restart a mothballed crude oil processing unit at its Dalian refinery in northeast China next month, processing 500,000 to 600,000 metric tons of crude monthly, according to the [Gulf Times](https://www.gulf-times.com/article/736079/business/petrochina-said-to-restart-part-of-shuttered-dalian-refinery-in-november). The listed arm of CNPC shut the entire 410,000-barrel-per-day Dalian Petrochemical refinery in July 2025 as Beijing pushed to cut excess refining capacity.\n\n## PetroChina's Dalian Restart and Crude Feed\n\nThe 200,000 bpd crude distillation unit will process about 122,000 to 146,000 bpd, equal to roughly 2% of China's seaborne crude imports in September, according to the Gulf Times. That translates to an operating rate of about 61% to 73% of the unit's total processing capacity. The refinery is expected to receive crude shipments from South America and the Middle East next week, a trade source briefed on the restart process told the Gulf Times. PetroChina previously planned to restart the unit in mid-2026, but the plan was held back as the US-Israeli war with Iran disrupted crude supplies and sent prices surging. The restart gained traction in recent months as China faced falling crude and fuel stocks after months of reduced imports and refining output. The Dalian plant, previously one of the largest processors of Russian ESPO blend, will also process Russian crude supplied via pipeline subsequently, according to the first trade source. PetroChina did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by email.\n\n## PetroChina's Recent Trading and Export Moves\n\nPetroChina is expected to see record trading profits in 2026, with its trading arm PCI's gross profits topping 20 billion yuan ($3.0 billion), MarketScreener reported on October 16, 2026. Chinese refiners suspended oil product exports to regions beyond Hong Kong and Macau until further notice from Beijing, following the Golden Week holiday, Reuters reported on October 1, 2026. PetroChina began a major scheduled turnaround at its 200,000 bpd Renqiu refinery in Hebei province, northern China, halting crude processing capacity temporarily, according to a September 4, 2026 report.\n\n## PDVSA and Idemitsu Refinery Activity\n\nPDVSA head Hector Obregon said Venezuela aims to sign 105 oil contracts by December 2026, with 61 already signed and 44 pending, [Devdiscourse](https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/3989902-venezuela-looking-to-sign-105-oil-contracts-by-end-of-year-head-of-pdvsa) reported on October 9, 2026. PDVSA expects oil production to reach 1.5 million barrels per day by 2027, up from 1.2 million, and is restarting its Cardon refinery after a fire. Idemitsu Kosan restarted its Keihin crude distillation unit last week after six months offline for maintenance, [News](https://www.qcintel.com/article/japan-s-idemitsu-restarts-keihin-cdu-after-six-month-turnaround-75291.html) reported on October 15, 2026.\n\n## Dalian Refinery Timeline to 2029\n\nPipeChina sought in a tender issued on September 8 technical services for restoring 8.4 million metric tons in annual transport capacity, about 168,000 bpd, at a pipeline linking Dalian's Xingang port to the refinery, according to a document reviewed by Reuters. PipeChina had said in its September 8 document that it expected the plant to resume operations in December. The startup of the new $10 billion refinery complex is expected in March 2029, according to the same tender document. All crude processed during the initial stage of operations would be imported, and the refinery is expected to cease operations in March 2029 when the new complex comes online, according to the document.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}