• SINOPEC rolls out China's first large-scale production of low-sulfur marine fuel, with goal to set global quality standards
• Ten refineries will be producing the low-sulfur marine fuel, of which products from three were already supplied to the market and met with positive market reception
• By 2020, Zhoushan and other China major ports will be supplied with low-sulfur marine fuel, while up to 50 key overseas ports, including Singapore, will be equipped to supply the fuel
• SINOPEC’s low-sulfur marine fuel production capacity will reach over 15 million tons by 2023

June 5, 2019 – Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, China -  China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Corp. or SINOPEC) announced today that it will be producing 10 million tons of low-sulfur marine fuel in 2020 to supply the global market, and increase its production capacity of the fuel to 15 million by 2023 to strenghten its global sales and supply network. Sinopec will be supplying low-sulfur marine fuel at Zhoushan and other major domestic ports, while also estabilshing supply capabilities at more than 50 key international ports including Singapore. This commitment will help realize a 600,000 ton reduction in sulfur dioxide emssions, which is equivalent to ceasing the driving of 64 million trucks of the Fourth Stage National Vehicle Emission Standard (IV National Standard) for a year.

Shipping emissions have become a major source of air pollution in port cities and coastal areas. Statistics show that the amount of PM2.5 that a 10,000 TEU container vessel with 70% load produces is equivalent to what is produced by 210,000 IV National Standard trucks. In addition, research conducted on behalf of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) forecasts that the global shipping industry is estimated to consume approximately 300 million tons of marine fuel in 2020.

Under the revised MARPOL Annex VI, effective from January 1, 2020, the global sulfur limit will be reduced from the current 3.5% to 0.5%, representing an 86% decrease from current emissions. The new sulfur limit will prove revolutionary to the global shipping industry and as the limit help improve conditions of the global environment, it will also set up new challenges and opportunities to refiners in the industry. As a Category A council memeber of the IMO, China has taken a pioneering step in the initiative by bringing forward the starting date by a year and has implemented the sulfur limit in China costal areas since January 1^st 2019.

SINOPEC is commited to promoting environmental friendly developments in the global industry and has actively carried out production R&D on low-sulfur marine fuel since 2017. Going foward, ten Sinopec refiners located in costal regions will be carrying out the production of low-sulfur marine fuel. Of the ten refiners, three including ones in Shanghai, Jinling and Hainan, have already successfully produced IMO compliant marine fuel earlier this year. In terms of supply network development, supply networks have been established in ports in the Shanghai and Zhejiang region. SINOPEC aims to have all major domestic ports be equipped with steady and compliant supplies of low-sulfur marine fuel by January 1, 2020. In addition, Sinopec also aims to have establish supply networks of the fuel in up to 50 key international ports, including ones in Singapore, Hambantota and the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp area.

"Reduction of shipping emissions is one of the key components of our Blue Sky Protection Campaign," said Mr. Lv Dapeng, spokesman of SINOPEC. “The production and supply of low-sulfur marine fuel oil is a green initiative that benefits the whole world and one that requires collaborative global action.”

As the world’s largest oil refining company, SINOPEC has the advantage of owning advanced refining technology along with large-scale refineries located in costal areas where the market demand sits. This equips SINOPEC with the ability and to carry out large-scale production of low-sulfur marine fuel and contribute to the prevention and reduction of marine and air pollution in China and the world.

SINOPEC has completed the development layout of low-sulfur greener marine fuel supply network globally. Mr.Liu Zurong, the executive director and party secretary of SINOPEC Fuel Oil Sales Co., Ltd (Sinopec Fuel Oil), said that SINOPEC Fuel Oil is a professional business arm expertise in global marine fuel business within SINOPEC.

According to Mr. Liu, SINOPEC has completed establishing the layout of its global supply network for low-sulfur marine fuel, with the ability to supply from over 40 key overseas ports. SINOPEC adheres to its principle of “every drop of oil counts”, and by putting great emphasis on strict quality control in production, SINOPEC aims to become a leader in setting industry standards for low-sulfur marine fuel.

Furthermore, the Great Wall lubricate oil, a sub-brand of SINOPEC, has launched auxiliary products with OEM Certification that are compatiable with SINOPEC low-sulfur marine fuel. 

SINOPEC is commited to its low-carbon ecological development strategy, and views green energy as the key driver of environmental protection. In 2011, SINOPEC introduced low-carbon development concepts into its corporate strategies. SINOPEC has also taken the lead in publishing the Environmental Protection White Book among domestic refiners in 2012. In 2013, SINOPEC allocated 20.9 billion CNY to the “Clear Water and Blue Sky” initiative, an environment protection campaign which became the largest domestic one-off initiatve and managed to acheive significant social influence in China. In 2014, SINOPEC has launched the energy-efficiency enhancement program, which will ultimately help improve and maximize the company’s energy utilization till 2030. Since 2016, SINOPEC Open Day has been introduced to the public, accumulating up to 3000 visits by its 65 sub-enterprises and accounting for 1.3 million visitors in total, making it the largest public open day activity in China. Since 2018, SINOPEC has rolled out the “Ecological Enterprises Actions”, the largest domestic eco-action iniative that is applied to the whole enterprise value chain. Under the initiative, SINOPEC will become a cleaner, more efficient, low-carbon and self-circulatory enterprise, all in aim to establish green and low-carbon development as one of SINOPEC’s core-competitiveness.