New Energies
Development and utilization of new energies is an important approach to cope with energy and environmental challenges and to facilitate sustainable development. CNPC regards new energies development as a strategic path for solving future energy problems.
Making the green and low-carbon energy transition a high priority, the Company has included new energies in its core operations to facilitate the shift to an integrated energy company across oil, gas, thermal energy, electricity and hydrogen, promoting the integrated development of fossil energy and new energies, based on a three-step approach of “clean alternative, strategic replacement and green development”.
Hydrogen Energy
In 2024, in line with the market demand for hydrogen energy, the Company accelerated the construction of hydrogen supply centers near its refining and chemical facilities to increase the supply of high-purity hydrogen. Throughout the year, CNPC’s high-purity hydrogen capacity increased by 1,500 t/a to 8,100 t/a. The high-purity hydrogen projects of Changqing Petrochemical and Qingyang Petrochemical became operational. The high-purity hydrogen projects of Lanzhou Petrochemical Yulin Chemical and Karamay Petrochemical were under construction.
Geothermal Energy
Being an important source of renewable energy, geothermal energy can be used for electricity generation, heating, farming and medical treatment. There are abundant geothermal resources available in Hebei Province of China, where CNPC's Huabei oil province is located. The geothermal heat in Huabei is of low-medium temperature conductive geothermal sources, generally around 90℃. Huabei oil province is endowed with 628.76×1018 joules of geothermal energy, equivalent to 21.4 billion tons of standard coal.
CNPC has been actively promoting the development and utilization of geothermal energy and supporting relative research efforts. We fund demonstration projects in the Huabei, Daqing, Liaohe and Jidong oilfields. Since 2021, the Company has put into operation six geothermal heating projects in Xiong'an New Area, Tangshan and other places, increasing the coverage of geothermal heating by 9.6 million square meters.
In 2024, the coverage of geothermal heating (and cooling) services added 15.71 million m2 and totaled more than 50 million m2 (including O&M). The Caofeidian New City project in eastern Hebei set a new record for China’s largest single-capacity geothermal heating project in mid-deep strata.
Wind and Solar Power Generation
In 2024, CNPC’s largest single-capacity grid-connected wind power project, the Jilin Oilfield Angge 550 MW wind power project was put into operation. As of the end of 2024, the total installed capacity reached 10.25 million kilowatts (including visual progress).
Biomass Energy
Biomass energy is the chemical energy transformed from solar energy and stored in an organism (animal, plant or micro-organism) through photosynthesis, with biomass (living organism) as the energy carrier. Biomass energy is an important type of renewable energy and can be converted into fuel ethanol and bio-diesel by means of sophisticated techniques.
Ethanol Fuel
Ethanol fuel, when blended with gasoline, can help to reduce auto emissions and boost the combustion efficiency of engines to a great extent, saving energy and helping to protect the environment. CNPC has carried out R&D activities with diversified non-grain sources for ethanol fuel without occupying farmland, consuming grain, or damaging the environment. Producing fuel ethanol with sweet sorghum straw is a major breakthrough in this field. In 2001, Jilin Fuel Ethanol Co., Ltd., a joint venture between CNPC (55%) and Jilin Grain Group (25%) and COFCO (20%), was established. Jilin Fuel Ethanol Co., Ltd. is capable of producing 500,000 metric tons of ethanol fuel and 50,000 metric tons of ethyl acetate every year.