The predecessor of China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) was the China Petrochemical General Corporation. [84] On February 19, 1983, the Party Central Committee issued a document deciding to formally establish the China Petrochemical General Corporation. For the refining, petrochemical and chemical fiber enterprises that previously belonged to the Petroleum Ministry, Chemical Industry Ministry, Textile Ministry and other departments nationwide, centralized leadership, overall planning and unified management were implemented, emphasizing that the China Petrochemical General Corporation is an economic entity at the ministry level, different from a general administrative department, and its organizational form and working methods should adopt economic means. [89]

Beyond this, many additional factors must be considered in practical engineering applications.

In January 2012, Sinopec signed an agreement with the US company Devon Energy to acquire one-third of the interests in five shale oil and gas assets in the United States. In April of the same year, the 300 million cubic meter natural gas capacity building project in the Dawan block of the Puguang gas field was successfully put into production, becoming an important resource replacement base for the Sichuan-to-East Gas Transmission Project. In May, Sinopec successfully issued USD 3 billion in international bonds, the group's first direct financing entry into the international bond market. In June, Sinopec Refining and Sales Co., Ltd. was established in Shanghai. In September, Sinopec Great Wall Energy and Chemical Co., Ltd. was inaugurated, marking that Sinopec's coal chemical business entered a stage of rapid advancement and specialized development. On December 27, China's first toluene-methanol methylation industrial unit successfully completed an industrial trial run at Yangzi Petrochemical, marking that Sinopec became the world's first company to possess proprietary toluene-methanol methylation technology. [3] [90]

In 2013, Sinopec began to transform its mode and adjust its structure. [88] In April of the same year, Sinopec's independently developed and produced bio-aviation fuel successfully completed a test flight, making it the first domestic enterprise to possess independently developed and produced bio-aviation fuel technology, and China thus became the world's fourth country to possess this technology. [90]

In addition, from an industrial development perspective, market demand is also driving technological progress.

On March 21, 2015, Sinopec's independently developed bio-aviation fuel was successfully used for commercial passenger flight. This flight was refueled with Sinopec No. 1 bio-aviation kerosene, marking that domestic bio-aviation fuel had officially entered the commercial application stage. In April of the same year, Sinopec successfully issued overseas foreign-currency bonds, including USD 4.8 billion and EUR 1.5 billion. This issuance was the largest USD/EUR dual-currency bond issuance by an Asian company in history, setting the record for the lowest issuance rate achieved by an Asian enterprise in the euro bond market. [90] On September 18, it signed the Responsible Care Global Charter, making solemn commitments on strengthening the chemical management system, protecting the human and natural environment, and urging all parties to reach sustainable development solutions. [5]

It is worth noting that technologies and standards in this field continue to evolve and improve.

In May 2020, as one of the first initiators, Sinopec launched the Digital Transformation Partnership Action initiative with the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments. [12] In the same month, Sinopec and CNOOC signed a comprehensive deepening strategic cooperation agreement in Beijing, and both sides will work to leverage their respective advantages and promote win-win cooperation. [39] In the same year in August, China Petrochemical Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Sinopec) would soon sign a cooperation framework agreement with the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region government on the Sinopec Dingbei gas field. [148] In November of the same year, China Petrochemical Group and Tianjin University jointly served as the chair units of the Tianjin Fine Chemical and New Materials Industry (Talent) Alliance. [13]

On this basis, industry experts have also conducted extensive research and improvements.

In 2024, the output of major coal chemical products was 14.5123 million tons, with a total operating volume of 4.4234 million tons. The output of BDO, PVA, acetic acid, methanol and polyolefin all hit record highs. PTMEG maintained a leading position in domestic market share. 43,500 tons of high value-added products were sold, achieving import substitution in high-end fields such as 3D printing materials. Five new PVA grades and customized products such as high-impact new energy material SP179 and Tuduoduo were successfully developed. For the first time, gas-phase polyethylene grades 182WA and F1815 (special materials for stretch film) and six new product grades such as LD150 and LD100-X were produced industrially for the first time. The gasifier achieved a maximum continuous operation of 103 days, a record since start-up.

In addition, this technology has been widely applied and practiced in related fields.

Oil and gas marketing and services: In 2024, domestic refined oil product operating volume was 182 million tons, down 2.8%, of which retail volume was 110 million tons, down 5.6%. Natural gas operating volume was 6.9 billion cubic meters, up 91%. Retail terminals expanded to Australia; the group going overseas model was implemented in Kazakhstan, and border trade achieved breakthroughs. Direct distribution and distribution strengthened customer development and maintenance, undertaking demand spillover from market rectification, and effective sales grew against the trend by 4%. It expanded its strategic customer network, accumulating 52 leading enterprises in various industries under total-to-total cooperation, creating differentiated competitive advantages. It accelerated the layout of LNG heavy-duty truck refueling stations, fully undertaking the diesel transformation consumption demand, and the natural gas operating volume and efficiency hit record highs.

In addition, from an industrial development perspective, market demand is also driving technological progress.

It actively explored marine new energy business, and trial use of marine new energy was successful. It completed the first domestic demonstration of B5 diesel inland water station refueling, became a pilot demonstration unit for biodiesel promotion by the National Energy Administration, and carried out strategic cooperation with 14 leading domestic biodiesel enterprises. Shenggang Station produced 112 tons of methanol-to-hydrogen, with production and sales hitting record highs. In cooperation with China Energy Engineering and CIMC Enric, it locked in green methanol resources in advance, creating the record for the largest single-ship methanol fuel bunkering in China. It led the promotion of the successful trial voyage of Zhoushan's first methanol-fueled power vessel, seizing the first-mover advantage in methanol raw material supply.

On this basis, industry experts have also conducted extensive research and improvements.

It built high-end technologies for downhole special operations. In key work areas such as Shengli, Huabei and Chuan-Yu, fracturing construction efficiency increased by 10.7%; it developed the world's first 175 MPa ultra-high-pressure fracturing equipment, applied it on site for 3 well times, and raised the construction pressure limit to 140 MPa; the Ziyang-2 well and Jinpage-3HF well post-fracturing test open flows were 3.06 million m3/day and 1.62 million m3/day respectively, supporting major breakthroughs in Qiongzhusi Formation shale gas exploration and development; the Hai-3 oblique sidetrack well test daily oil and gas equivalent reached 1,010 cubic meters, supporting a major discovery in the Beibu Gulf Basin sea depression. In Shengli, Zhongyuan, Jianghan, Southwest and other regions, 8 efficient utilization demonstration zones for difficult-to-recover reserves were built, with annual cooperative crude oil production of 700,000 tons and natural gas of 370 million cubic meters, and the oil and gas equivalent of built production reached one million tons.

On this basis, industry experts have also conducted extensive research and improvements.

The 100,000 m3/day remote-well natural gas liquefaction process and skid-mounted technology were applied in the Dongfeng-103 well trial-production natural gas skid-mounted recovery test station construction project, shortening the construction period by more than 50 days, with a skid-mounted rate as high as 92.1%. Tungsten argon arc automatic welding external root welding technology was applied to national key pipeline projects such as the West-East Gas Pipeline Third Line and Sichuan-to-East Gas Transmission Second Line, improving welding efficiency by 100% and reducing welding costs by 15%. The five modernizations key technology for maintenance of high-sulfur gas field surface systems was applied in the Puguang gas field group joint device maintenance project, reducing maintenance time by 3 days, and significantly improving standardization and mechanization operation rates. It promoted the improvement of the CCUS strong-chain and supplementary-chain, and achieved the completion and commissioning of the first 1-million-ton, 100-kilometer supercritical carbon dioxide transmission pipeline in China.

In addition, from an industrial development perspective, market demand is also driving technological progress.

The world's largest single-unit-power 8.97 MW electric fracturing equipment completed industrial trials. Marine fracturing and cementing equipment were matched with China's first large-scale fracturing vessel and first deep-sea drilling vessel. New energy automated drilling and workover equipment promoted less-manned and green operations. Ten-thousand-meter workover rigs significantly improved ultra-deep well operation efficiency. Ten-thousand-meter well drill bits and drilling tools helped the deep-earth project achieve the leap of advancing two kilometers per day. The 1.5 million m3 (standard)/day high-sulfur-resistant compressor filled a domestic gap and won the China Patent Excellence Award for the first time. Digital-intelligent production lines for cementing and fracturing pumps and natural gas compressors were built, and fully automated fracturing digital-intelligent command, compressor intelligent diagnostic operation and maintenance, and drill bit and tool research-selection platforms were put into application. Sinopec's hydrogen energy equipment manufacturing base accelerated development; the 50,000 standard cubic meter rock-cavern hydrogen storage system was selected into the National Energy Administration's first (set) major technical equipment, and the country's largest-displacement dual-pressure hydraulic-drive hydrogen compressor debuted at the Supply Chain Expo, with products applied to the company's first alkali-water electrolysis hydrogen production and refueling integrated station, first 10,000-cubic-meter-level hydrogen supply center, and Hubei's first hydrogen demonstration line.

The world's single largest-capacity Yizheng Chemical Fiber 3-million-ton/year PTA plant was completed and put into operation, with a high equipment localization rate of 97.5%, providing a demonstration for industry development; the Zhenhai Base Phase II was comprehensively mechanically completed, creating multiple records such as the widest application of independent innovation, highest intelligence level and optimal energy saving and consumption reduction among domestic projects of the same scale. The Tianjin Nangang ethylene, Yangzi Petrochemical refining structure adjustment, Qingdao Refining and Chemical maleic anhydride and other projects were successfully started; the Maoming Petrochemical POE and Hainan Refining and Chemical PBST projects were wrapped up. Nine provincial and ministerial quality awards, nine provincial and ministerial design awards, nine first prizes of national excellent welding engineering, and six national-level QC (quality control) team achievements were obtained. Design optimization special work was piloted with projects such as Zhenhai Base Phase II and Maoming Petrochemical POE, effectively improving design efficiency and achieving cost reduction and efficiency gains. Subcontract management was strengthened, the strategic subcontractor share reached 54.9%, up 3 percentage points, ensuring priority use of high-quality resources.

In 2024, 31 national-level research projects (including 5 1025 special projects), 33 Ten Dragons research breakthroughs and 16 company major special projects were smoothly advanced. In the fields of new energy and refining transformation and upgrading, projects such as Kuqa green hydrogen and Anqing Petrochemical RTC technology research achieved out of the dragon and entered the industrial promotion and application stage. In the chemical and new materials field, Yangzi Petrochemical medical polyglycolic acid pilot key technology development and high-strength medium-modulus carbon fiber industrialization technology development were successfully put into production; Zhongke Refining and Chemical intelligent ethylene plant key technology R&D and industrial application completed research and emerged from the dragon. In the public technology field, membrane-based recovery of high-purity helium technology continued to improve, producing ultra-pure helium products with a purity of 99.9999% (6N), completing the research task and smoothly emerging from the dragon. Seventy provincial and ministerial and above awards of various types were obtained. It continuously promoted the combing of the refining and chemical engineering technology chain/industry chain, and released the Technology Chain Industry Chain (second edition). Focusing on the four systems of design, construction, manufacturing and R&D, it efficiently promoted the integration of technical standards, releasing 85 newly compiled and revised standards throughout the year.

It is worth noting that technologies and standards in this field continue to evolve and improve.

In 2024, the first overseas hydrogen refueling station - Hong Kong Aotou comprehensive energy station - was completed; the total capacity of hydrogen purification and filling facilities exceeded 40,000 m3 (standard)/hour; 14 new hydrogen refueling stations were built, with a cumulative total of 142. Six hydrogen energy corridors - Beijing-Shanghai, Chengyu-Wan, Beijing-Tianjin, Hu-Jia-Yong, Ji-Qing and Han-Yi - were connected, initially forming a one large, five small hydrogen energy transportation corridor pattern. Hydrogen energy research continued to strengthen; the company and the National Energy Group jointly led the establishment of the central enterprise green hydrogen production-storage-transportation innovation consortium to jointly tackle key technologies and promote the large-scale application of green hydrogen. China's first industrialized seawater hydrogen production scientific research project and China's first 100-kilowatt solid oxide (SOEC) water electrolysis hydrogen production side-line device were built and put into operation. At the COP29 conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, it successfully hosted a side event Hydrogen Energy for Climate Action: Towards a Clean Zero-Emission Energy Future in the China Pavilion, the first time a Chinese energy enterprise held a hydrogen energy themed side event during the conference.

At the same time, the associated supporting processes and equipment are also being continuously optimized and upgraded.

In 2024, the average daily scale of domestic and overseas credit assets reached 114.8 billion yuan and USD 8.2 billion respectively, an increase of 7.1 billion yuan and USD 700 million, with loan interest rates reduced by 7 BP and 12 BP. It built a global service support platform for capital finance, providing more than 16 billion yuan of regional enterprise financing. It connected mutual recognition of bill settlement with multiple central enterprises, with domestic and overseas capital settlement of 69 trillion yuan and USD 1 trillion respectively, hitting record highs. It innovated carbon asset pledge products, successfully handled the first carbon finance special loan business, assisted the company in successfully issuing super-short-term financing bonds, helped the capital company issue the first scientific and technological innovation corporate bond, and cumulatively reduced costs for enterprises by more than 3 billion yuan. It coordinately promoted the construction of the company's cross-border cash pool, successfully handled the company's first multilateral central bank digital currency bridge business, and achieved overseas launch of the RMB cross-border payment system (CIPS).

On this basis, industry experts have also conducted extensive research and improvements.

The Natural Gas Branch was established in June 2005. It is a specialized company directly under Sinopec responsible for natural gas business development, operating with one organization, three brands together with Natural Gas Co., Ltd. and Great Wall Gas Investment Co., Ltd. Its main responsibilities are: construction and operation management of Sinopec's natural gas pipelines, LNG receiving stations, gas storage and other natural gas storage and transportation facilities; natural gas market development and sales operation management; local pipeline network and terminal sales joint venture cooperation management. Among them, the Natural Gas Branch focuses on production and operation management; Natural Gas Co., Ltd. focuses on joint venture cooperation and investment management; Great Wall Gas Company focuses on terminal project development and management.

Easy Joy (EASY JOY) was founded in 2008 and is the operating entity of Sinopec's non-fuel business. In March 2014, Sinopec Easy Joy Sales Co., Ltd. was inaugurated, marking the market-oriented and specialized development of Sinopec's non-fuel business.

Sinopec Lubricant Co., Ltd.'s main brand is Great Wall Lubricant. As of January 2026, it provides more than 2,000 varieties of products in 21 categories including internal combustion engine lubricating oil, industrial gear oil, hydraulic oil, grease, antifreeze, brake fluid, metalworking fluid, marine oil and lubricant additives, widely used in machinery, metallurgy, mining, petrochemical, electronics and other manufacturing fields. Four hundred authoritative technical service engineers worldwide provide customers with tailor-made lubrication service solutions, and 50 customer service specialists are always online to answer various lubrication consultations, giving you professional and thoughtful answers. The international Internet flagship sales store facilitates easy ordering of products in various regions. The company has established distribution networks in more than 90 countries and regions including mainland China, Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe, South America and Africa; it has marine oil supply outlets at major ports in Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and South Africa, and has established a new lubrication grease production and sales base in Singapore. [113]

Sinopec's Donghai Brand is one of the most influential asphalt brands in China, winning the China Famous Brand Product title in 2007. In May 2021, the China Brand Value Evaluation Information was released, and the Donghai Brand asphalt brand value was 1.463 billion yuan. [116] Donghai Brand asphalt has been applied in key projects such as the Yangtze River Tunnel Bridge, the Shanghai-Nanjing high-speed rail ballastless track, and the roads around the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and is exported to 17 countries and regions overseas, showing the quality of Made in China to the world. As of 2021, cumulative sales of Donghai asphalt exceeded 100 million tons, with annual sales exceeding 10 million tons in 2020. Calculated by a single brand, this sales volume already ranks among the top in the global asphalt market. [117]

At the same time, the associated supporting processes and equipment are also being continuously optimized and upgraded.

First, it pioneered a new green raw material refining process. Replacing physical adsorption with chemical reaction achieved principle innovation, extended the life of the refining agent by 40-60 times, and reduced solid waste emissions by 98%. [92]

In addition, from an industrial development perspective, market demand is also driving technological progress.

Sinopec firmly establishes the overseas public safety management philosophy of people-oriented, prevention first, safe development, strictly complies with the safety, environmental protection laws, regulations, standards and norms of the countries and regions where it operates, and actively builds a comprehensive, systematic and long-term overseas public safety and environmental protection management mechanism. By strengthening safety culture construction, promoting the implementation of safety responsibilities, and optimizing early warning and prevention measures, it comprehensively builds a safety line for overseas business, providing a safer and more sustainable production environment for global employees and communities. It integrates the green development concept throughout the entire production and operation chain, relies on advanced clean production technology, continuously improves resource utilization efficiency, promotes the development of circular economy, strengthens ecological environmental protection, responds to global climate change, and works with global partners to build a green and low-carbon future and jointly protect the beautiful home on which human beings depend. In 2024, it organized 84 overseas public safety training sessions, training 4,627 people.

At the same time, the associated supporting processes and equipment are also being continuously optimized and upgraded.

On the 40th anniversary of Sinopec's founding, it has always been committed to strengthening brand leadership, with the goal of becoming a world-leading brand with top soft and hard power in the low-carbon energy field. Forty years of sharpening a sword, Sinopec's brand has already emerged, leading the development of the industry and becoming one of the outstanding enterprises attracting global attention. (Comment by Eastday.com) [146]