China News Agency, Beijing, March 9th, title: Ma Yongsheng, Chairman of Sinopec: Hold the "energy rice bowl" firmly in his own hands

  China News Agency reporter Liu Liang

  Coordinating safe and stable energy supply and green and low-carbon development, scientifically and orderly promoting carbon peak and carbon neutrality are important work arrangements for China at present and in the future.

Facing the new situation at home and abroad this year, how should China do a good job in energy security and green development?

Ma Yongsheng, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, chairman of Sinopec and secretary of the party group, shared his views in an exclusive interview with China News Agency on "Two Sessions Face to Face".

Excerpts from the interview are as follows:

China News Agency reporter: How do you view the global and Chinese energy security situation this year?

Ma Yongsheng:

Energy security is a strategic issue related to the overall modernization and an important factor affecting the world pattern.

In recent years, China's energy industry has made great achievements.

In 2022, China's oil and gas industry will increase reserves and production for four consecutive years, domestic crude oil production will return to 200 million tons, the scale of non-fossil energy supply will continue to expand rapidly, and the ability to guarantee energy independence will remain above 80%. In my own hands, it has strongly supported China's economic and social development and people's livelihood energy needs.

  In 2023, from a global perspective, the geopolitical game will continue to intensify, the crisis in Ukraine will overlap, and the upstream investment in oil and gas will be insufficient, causing fluctuations in energy prices.

Domestically, China has a high proportion of coal consumption, a high degree of dependence on foreign oil and gas, and the mismatch of time and space in energy production and sales. Security is a big challenge.

In this regard, Sinopec will continue to further promote the energy revolution, increase the exploration and development of oil and gas resources and increase reserves and production, accelerate the exploration and construction of a new energy system, and take the energy job into its own hands.

Reporter from China News Agency: In recent years, Sinopec has reported frequent successes in shale gas and shale oil exploration. What signals are they releasing?

Ma Yongsheng:

In recent years, Sinopec has made a number of new breakthroughs in the field of oil and gas exploration.

In particular, we have created a "deep ground project" to promote the construction of the Shengli Jiyang Shale Oil National Demonstration Zone with high standards. The whole shale gas field - Qijiang shale gas field was born.

  The achievement of these achievements, on the one hand, proves that China's oil and gas exploration has broad prospects; An all-round breakthrough has a bright future and promises a lot.

For example, China's onshore deep and ultra-deep oil and gas resources amount to 67.1 billion tons of oil equivalent, accounting for 34% of the country's total oil and gas resources. The proven level of resources is low, and it is also a realistic field for future oil and gas exploration and development.

We are confident in promoting scientific and technological breakthroughs and strategic breakthroughs in the field of shale oil and gas, and realizing a higher level of Eastern shale revolution.

China News Agency reporter: China is scientifically and orderly promoting carbon peak carbon neutrality.

During this process, what issues do you think need attention?

What plans does Sinopec have in promoting the "double carbon" goal?

Ma Yongsheng:

Achieving the goal of "double carbon" is a long process, and it cannot be achieved overnight. We must insist on making steady progress and gradually realizing it.

For energy companies, it is necessary to anchor the "dual carbon" goal, accelerate the construction of a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient modern energy system, and cultivate new industrial competitive advantages in the completion of the "dual carbon" goal.

  At present, Sinopec is actively embracing green transformation in accordance with the country's overall deployment and requirements for carbon neutralization work on peak carbon, with the ultimate goal of "net zero" carbon emissions, and insists on reducing carbon in stock, reducing carbon in increments, and moving towards zero. Carbon, develop negative carbon, steadily implement the eight major actions of carbon peaking, build green competitiveness, continue to promote clean fossil energy, scale clean energy, and low-carbon production process, and strive to complete the "double carbon" goal with high quality.

  In the future, we will focus on the following work, including: in terms of traditional fossil energy, we will continue to increase the proportion of low-carbon energy mainly natural gas; In-depth business integration, continuously increasing the proportion of "green electricity" applications; accelerating industrial restructuring, eliminating high energy-consuming and inefficient production capacity, and promoting industrial quality upgrading; continuing to carry out research and development, promotion and application of carbon dioxide capture, oil flooding and storage technologies, etc.

China News Agency reporter: Accelerating energy transformation is an important trend in China's current energy development.

In your opinion, what advantages does China currently have in this regard, and what challenges or shortcomings does it have?

Ma Yongsheng:

Energy transition is a global trend and a systematic project in China's economic and social development.

  In the process of global energy transformation, China has many advantages.

First of all, the Chinese government attaches great importance to it, and a series of top-level plans such as the "14th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development" have been introduced one after another. The country's strong measures in finance, taxation, project construction and power consumption have played a key role.

Secondly, traditionally speaking, China is rich in coal, poor in oil, and low in gas. Looking at it now, it should be followed by more wind, more light, and more water.

With a vast territory and abundant resources, China is the world's largest producer of renewable energy.

In recent years, China's leapfrog development of renewable energy represented by water energy, wind energy, solar energy, and biomass energy has achieved remarkable results.

In 2022, wind power and photovoltaic power generation will exceed 1 trillion kWh for the first time, a year-on-year increase of 21%, accounting for 13.8% of the electricity consumption of the whole society, which is close to the domestic electricity consumption of urban and rural residents across the country. This is a remarkable achievement.

  Of course, we still face some challenges in the energy transition, such as bottlenecks in key core technologies, incomplete industrial chains, and application scenarios to be enriched.

In addition, it is necessary to continue to focus on solving the problems of clean electricity consumption, delivery, and peak regulation.

China News Agency reporter: We have noticed that Sinopec is committed to deploying the green hydrogen industry and building China's first hydrogen energy company.

Can you talk about what this means for accelerating the energy transition?

Ma Yongsheng:

Sinopec is building China's first hydrogen energy company, focusing on the two major fields of hydrogen energy transportation and green hydrogen refining, vigorously developing hydrogen energy integration business, and leading the high-quality development of the hydrogen energy industry chain.

In the future, hydrogen energy will play a pivotal role in the new energy system.

At present, China's hydrogen industry chain is in the early stage of development, showing a good trend of rapid development.

As an important state-owned backbone energy enterprise, Sinopec is actively deploying the hydrogen industry chain.

We believe that as long as the entire hydrogen energy industry chain develops in a coordinated manner, and adheres to state support, market leadership, and orderly development, it will surely open up new space for the development of non-fossil energy, and form a hydrogen economy with an industrial scale of 10 trillion yuan by 2060. At the same time, it helps China's energy industry to achieve the development goal of "net zero" emissions.

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