[New Year on the Ground] Pengfei Group: Embracing Each Day with Responsibility and Commitment

Original, February 17, 2018, Radio and Television Convergence Media Center Xiaoyi Radio and Television Station

2018 was the inaugural year for fully implementing the spirit of the 19th National Congress, marking the 40th anniversary of reform and opening-up, and serving as a pivotal year that bridges the past and the future in our efforts to secure a moderately prosperous society in all respects and build a modern regional central city. As we embark on this year’s “Spring Festival Visits to the Grassroots,” guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we turn our cameras to the dedicated cadres and workers across all sectors who remain at their posts during the holiday period—showing what they’re up to and highlighting the new developments unfolding on the land of Shengxi in the new era. At Pengfei Group, to ensure safe gas supply for the entire city during the festivities, more than a thousand employees have stayed on the front lines, meticulously safeguarding every stage of liquefied natural gas production and processing to prevent even the slightest error. In today’s installment of “Spring Festival Visits to the Grassroots,” let’s head over to Pengfei Group.

Pengfei Group’s 600,000-ton methanol–400-million-cubic-meter LNG co‑production project serves as a key pillar for our city’s transformative and leapfrog development. One of its primary applications is supplying liquefied natural gas to residents across the city, ensuring adequate gas for daily life and transportation needs. During the Spring Festival, when gas consumption peaks, coupled with the suspension of out-of-town logistics, the market supply of LNG shrinks, leaving the city’s various gas‑using sectors reliant on Pengfei Group as the sole delivery channel. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, a reporter visited Pengfei Group’s Xinyu Coking Plant and found that all equipment was operating normally, with shift personnel reporting to duty on schedule. Shen Shirui, who works in the plant’s workshop, told the reporter that this year marks his ninth Spring Festival spent at this post.

Shen Shirui, Section Chief of the Cold Drum Unit in the Chemical Workshop at the Xinyu Coking Plant of Pengfei Group:

Our section primarily cools the yellow gas coming from the coke oven and removes tar and naphthalene. After this treatment, the gas is delivered to the downstream units of the chemical plant via a blower, then routed to the gas holder compressor, and finally supplied as qualified gas to the methanol and LNG facilities. If a malfunction occurs here, it would first cause smoke emissions from the coke oven, compromising environmental compliance, and secondly reduce the gas supply to the methanol and LNG plants.

LNG, commonly known as liquefied natural gas, is produced by leveraging the surplus coke oven gas generated during the coking process at Pengfei Group’s 5-million-ton coke production base. This gas is compressed, purified, and decarbonized, then subjected to deep cryogenic liquefaction at minus 170 degrees Celsius before being separated into its constituent components. The blower operator position where Shen Shirui works is a critical hub within the coking plant, serving as the first stop in the series of processing and production steps that transform coke oven gas into LNG. If quality control at this stage is lax, all subsequent efforts will be in vain.

Zhang Aimin, Plant Manager of the Methanol–LNG Co‑production Plant at Pengfei Group:

Take our methanol‑LNG plant, for example—it is a highly continuous chemical enterprise. Unlike the coal‑washing and coking facilities we discussed earlier, every stage in this process is tightly interconnected, with each operation sequentially linked to the next; none can be omitted. Moreover, safety management, process‑parameter control, and even the meticulous execution of procedures by our operators all have a profound impact on the final outcomes. Consequently, this calls for comprehensive, integrated management that demands unwavering attention at every step.

Pengfei Coking Plant and Xinyu Coking Plant both perform preliminary processing on coke oven gas—produced during the coking process but not meeting liquefied natural gas (LNG) specifications—to supply feedstock to the methanol‑based LNG co‑production facility. Ultimately, this facility produces LNG that meets quality standards and is delivered to households nationwide. Despite all three plants operating at full capacity during the Spring Festival—producing 600,000 cubic meters of LNG per day—supply remains tight.

Rui Zhenhua, Plant Manager of Pengfei Coking Plant, Pengfei Group:

Pengfei Coking Plant has been designated by the Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology as a key gas‑supply facility. To ensure the steady supply of methanol and LNG during the holiday period, our plant has arranged for all employees to work overtime. All frontline managers, as well as the heads of workshops and the plant’s management team, are required to remain on duty throughout the Spring Festival, ensuring that everyone can enjoy a peaceful and joyful celebration.

Zhang Xiaoyong, Dispatch Director at Pengfei Coking Plant, Pengfei Group:

To ensure that Pengfei Coking Plant operates at full capacity during the Spring Festival, under the meticulous coordination of plant management, the coking workshop’s process and equipment supervisors conduct scheduled, location‑specific, and quantified inspections and maintenance of their assigned areas on a rotating daily basis. Except in exceptional circumstances, all personnel are prohibited from taking leave, thereby guaranteeing the stable operation of the coke ovens and adherence to prescribed process parameters.

The unique nature and irreplaceable role of these operations mean that all employees at Pengfei’s two coking plants and the on-site methanol‑LNG co‑production facility must remain at their posts throughout the Spring Festival. Many of them are from out of town, and there are also seasoned veterans who have worked here for more than a decade; yet each one understands that, operating in a critical industry, they bear a profound responsibility to ensure public welfare and cannot afford to be negligent.

Zhang Aimin, Plant Manager of the Methanol–LNG Co‑production Plant at Pengfei Group:

First and foremost, this is a responsibility—and a commitment—because safety is paramount in the chemical industry. When safety is ensured, the enterprise can maintain continuous operations; and with stable, uninterrupted production, it can achieve high output and abundant yields. Therefore, since we have chosen to work in the chemical sector, we must shoulder this heavy burden and fulfill our duties. Only by staying at our posts at the plant can we help ensure that the general public enjoys a peaceful and harmonious Spring Festival.

Rui Zhenhua, Plant Manager of Pengfei Coking Plant, Pengfei Group:

Yesterday, on New Year’s Eve, we were extremely busy. With our headquarters’ leadership visiting to offer their greetings, we went straight to the front lines and celebrated the holiday alongside the workers at their posts, making for a truly fulfilling experience. For Pengfei Coking Plant—and for the gas‑supply plant—it is a great honor to have been able to provide such convenient conditions, ensuring that everyone could use LNG without interruption throughout the Spring Festival period.

As the saying goes, “There is no such thing as a peaceful, carefree life—only people who bear the burden so that you may enjoy it.” Even during the Spring Festival, our most cherished traditional holiday, countless individuals continue to hold fast to their posts with quiet dedication, offering the same selfless service they have always provided to help us cherish family reunions, happiness, and harmony. On this occasion, the media professionals of Xiaoyi Radio and Television extend their warmest New Year wishes to those who remain on the front lines, wishing them a joyous Spring Festival and lasting peace and well‑being.

Editor-in-charge: Ren Xiangtao; Reporters: Liya, Li Gang

Editor: Wen Yang

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