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Sinopec lifts its game
Tankers refuel at a Sinopec depot in Beijing. The oil refining giant has invested heavily in an effort to improve the capital's air quality for the Games.
Photo: AFP
China Petroleum & Chemical (Sinopec), the world's third-largest crude oil refiner and the nation's biggest fuel distributor, has gone out of its way to ensure supplies of clean fuel to help Beijing meet its green Olympics commitments.
According to plans released in 2002 by Bocog, the city's sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and ozone levels were targeted to reach World Health Organisation-approved levels by this year.
To help cut pollution, the government stipulated that from March 1, all petrol stations must supply fuel meeting the China IV standard, equivalent to the Euro IV emission standard. All new cars must also meet the standard.
To meet these requirements, Sinopec said it had invested 40 billion yuan in recent years to upgrade production facilities, while developing clean fuel and renewable energy technology.
This is despite the company having suffered quarterly losses of billions of yuan in its refining operations as the central government kept domestic fuel prices low to ease inflation.
The state-controlled giant has also been importing fuel at a loss to ensure supplies as small independent refineries have been shut down by the state fuel price controls.
Subsidiary Sinopec Beijing Yanshan Petrochemical started to produce China IV petrol and diesel in January, and by March 1 the cleaner fuel was available throughout Beijing.
By upgrading emission standards, promoting the use of cleaner-burning natural gas and closing down the area's worst-polluting factories, officials have claimed success in the battle against pollution.
However, at the end of the Games, only the athletes can really say if the battle was won.