Sinopec vows to help country reach carbon neutrality by 2060

China Petrochemical Corp, or Sinopec Group, has vowed to further facilitate the country's goal of hitting peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 through continued efforts to optimize industry structure and control carbon emissions.

Zhang Yuzhuo, chairman of Sinopec, Asia's biggest refiner, said during a conference on Monday the company will continuously coordinate transformation and upgrading and carbon reduction while optimizing its structure and carbon emission control to push forward a scale production of clean energy and low carbon production process.

The company vowed to achieve carbon neutrality 10 years ahead of the country’s goal and is committed to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

The company plans a 23.8 percent increase in capital spending to 167.2 billion yuan ($25.5 billion) in 2021 following recovery of oil prices and energy demand as the COVID-19 epidemic subsides.

It will spend 66.8 billion yuan on upstream exploration focusing on shale gas development in southwest China and construction of liquefied natural gas terminals in coastal areas, up from 56.4 billion yuan last year, as China’s demand for refined oil products is expected to recover strongly and demand for natural gas and petrochemical products will also continue to grow, the company said in a statement filed with the Shanghai Stocks Exchange on Sunday.

The company also reported a 42.9 percent drop in net profit to 32.92 billion yuan last year, as the pandemic dented fuel consumption amid months-long lockdowns. Its crude oil throughput fell 4.7 percent from a year earlier to 236.91 million tons, with gasoline and diesel output down 7.7 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, while kerosene production plunged 34.6 percent.