ExxonMobil's mega ethylene project in Huizhou, South China's Guangdong province, officially started operations on Tuesday, playing a role in helping the city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area compete for a global petrochemical industry power house.

This is one of the major foreign investment projects of the country and the first major petrochemical project constructed solely by a US company in China, said a statement released by Huizhou city government on Tuesday.

"Its high-end chemical products will effectively meet the demand of the domestic market," the statement said.

Construction of the project started in Huizhou's Daya Bay on April 22, 2020.

The first phase of the project includes a flexible-feed steam cracking unit with an annual output of 1.6 million metric tons of ethylene, as well as two high-performance linear low-density polyethylene units with a total annual output of 1.2 million tons, said the statement.

The first phase also includes the world's largest single low-density polyethylene unit with an annual output of 500,000 tons, and two differentiated high-performance polypropylene units with a total annual output of 950,000 tons, it said.

From the construction starting ceremony held in 2020, to the launch of the ExxonMobil Daya Bay R&D Center in 2023, and a successful trial production, the project demonstrates the high efficiency and speed of China and Guangdong province as well as the close cooperation between government departments and enterprises, said the statement.

The project will inject strong momentum into Huizhou's efforts to build a global petrochemical industry highland and provide strong support for Guangdong's construction of a world-class green petrochemical industry cluster, it said.

"The successful start-up of the Huizhou Chemical Complex represents another milestone in Exxon-Mobil's commitment to manufacturing and technological leadership around the world," said Jean-Marc Taton, chairman of ExxonMobil China.

"The project was finished early and under budget with record safety performance, thanks to teamwork between ExxonMobil, our partners and the Guangdong government at all levels," he said.

Li Xingjun, chairman of Exxon-Mobil (Huizhou) Chemical Co Ltd, said ExxonMobil's R&D center in Daya Bay will help strengthen local industrial chain collaboration and promote the wider application of high-end chemical new materials in China's manufacturing industry.

"We are looking forward to sharing the development opportunities with Sino-foreign companies in the future, supporting the development of modern petrochemical industry clusters in the southern Chinese region, jointly promoting the upgrading and replacement of the industrial chain in the Greater Bay Area and promoting the value chain of China's petrochemical industry toward the mid to high end," he said.

Li said Guangdong has very complete infrastructural facilities, a very friendly business environment and many high-quality local talents.

Meanwhile, Guangdong has a strong manufacturing foundation, a complete industrial chain and a high degree of market openness, making it one of the world's leading manufacturing centers, he said.

Li said ExxonMobil would continue to work together with Guangdong to seize more opportunities and assist in the high-quality development of the region in the years to come.

Ethylene is known as the "mother of the petrochemical industry" and is the most important basic raw material for organic chemistry.

According to the statement, the high value-added basic chemical raw materials such as ethylene, polyethylene and polypropylene produced in the first phase of the project will be widely used in consumer packaging, industrial packaging, hygiene products, automobiles, home appliances and related industries.

With the completion of the project, the import dependence on high-performance polyolefins will be further reduced.