Community development

At home

In China, Sinopec works hard to improve the environment in areas where we operate in order to create a well-equipped, convenient, clean, healthy and agreeable living environment for local communities. Throughout 2009, Sinopec oilfield companies invested 1.18 billion RMB in 68 construction projects, including safety facilities and utilities improvement in local communities.

After these projects completed, the infrastructure of Sinopec companies further improved, fuel structure for heating went greener, the capacities of heating, sewage treatment and garbage disposal facilities significantly increased, infrastructure in mining areas bettered and living and working conditions of local communities continuously improved, thereby laying a solid foundation for construction of a harmonious society. As an example, Sinopec companies in Jinling, Jinan, Jingmen, Baling, Hubei and Yihua worked with local gas companies to remove potential safety hazards and environmental problems concerning gas use in local communities by building and operating natural gas pipelines to these communities.

Sinopec also works hard to pursue harmony with local communities and contribute to national unity in a spirit of dedication, friendship, mutual assistance and progress. For example, Sinopec Northwest Oilfield Co., Ltd. invested a total of 6 million RMB to help many poverty-stricken areas like Shaya, Keping and Luntai counties build highways and water wells to provide local farmers and herdsmen with easy access to water and educational services, thus winning recognition of local governments and residents. Meanwhile, the oilfield company actively established mutually supportive relationships with local communities in a progressive manner and provides financial assistance to certain poor areas on a regular basis.

A green energy pipeline to central and east China that drives the local economy and benefits hundreds of millions of Chinese people, Sinopec’s Sichuan-East China gas transmission project has been completely put into operation, which not only effectively addresses the domestic demand for natural gas but also directly drives construction of urban pipelines and natural gas utilization projects all the way along. Since this multi-billion project began, Sinopec has invested over 240 million RMB to construct access roads to Puguang Gas Field and build brick making plants, woven bag making plants and stone processing plants, offering more than 1,100 jobs to local jobless farmers. Dazhou City of Sichuan Province, the gas supply source of the project, attracted many firms to settle in its chemical industrial park.

Overseas

While actively going global, Sinopec builds rewarding relations with local communities where it operates. Over the years, the company has been complying with local laws and regulations, respecting the religious belief, social customs and habits and lifestyle of local people and making great efforts with respect to environmental protection, job creation, technology transfer, personnel training and teenager education, thereby effectively facilitating the social and economic development of local communities.

Overseas operating arms of Sinopec conducted targeted charitable activities and events where appropriate to benefit local people, including donations and disaster relief efforts. In 2009, Sinopec made several donations for this purpose. Of them, 10 community development projects were implemented in Hassakeh area of Syria, including sewage treatment system improvements for four hospitals, and infrastructure construction for newly-built villages and repairs of residential houses damaged by a 2008 flood. In addition, Sinopec made donations to Algeria, Kazakhstan, Indonesia and Gabon to help local people out of troubles caused by natural disasters.

  Poverty relief and aid to Tibet

We pay great attention to poverty relief in Tibet and for this purpose established a special working system, a task force and donation account for management of charity projects in Tibet, all of which operate in a standardized, institutionalized and scientific manner.

Our poverty relief program in Tibet focuses on infrastructure construction and philanthropic activities in order to improve the living and working conditions of local people. We assisted the local governments implement and complete several infrastructure construction projects that substantially improved the living and working conditions of local people. These efforts won the company an honorary title “Model State-Owned Enterprise in Poverty Relief” from the State Council Poverty Alleviation and Development Leadership Team. Over the years, Sinopec donated nearly 1.3 billion RMB in total to poverty-stricken regions, including Tibet, for infrastructure construction, economic development and disaster relief.

Aid to poverty-stricken counties

We have been providing targeted financial assistance to four poverty-stricken counties since 1988. In 2002, we turned our attention to another four poverty-stricken counties: Yingshang and Yuexi in Anhui Province and Luxi and Fenghuang in Hunan Province. Over the past eight years, Sinopec donated nearly 88 million RMB and sent a 32-person task force to address the poverty situation in these four counties.

Throughout the year, following the guidelines of China Rural Areas Poverty Relief and Development Program (2001-2010), we focused our relief efforts on infrastructure construction, industrial development, labor export training and education, an empowerment practice that brought these areas onto the right track of self development and generated remarkable results.

Aid to Tibet

Sinopec began its aid to Tibet in 2002. At the end of 2009, a total of 130 million RMB was invested in 55 infrastructure construction projects, winning the hearts of Tibetan people.

In 2009, Sinopec executed 10 infrastructure construction projects with a total investment of 25.67 million RMB, including herdsmen housing project, Sinopec Primary School of Bange County, construction of village-level libraries, education and training, donations to poor students, specialty processing and construction of village-level veterinary stations.

Infrastructure construction. Sinopec built 12 village-level concrete roads of 68 km length in total in these four poor counties. Of them, Qianma Road in Fenghuang County, a village road that began construction in 2003, connects 11 Miao-nationality villages and serves nearly 20,000 Miao people. This road plays an important role in driving local economic development and tourism and effectively enriched the local residents along the road.

Industrial development. Sinopec actively helps local communities engage in industrial development. For example, a 10,000-mu citrus orchard was developed in Luxi County, helping over 2,000 local households out of poverty with expected income generation of over 50 million RMB at the time of harvest. A 1,000-mu snakegourd orchard was built in Yuexi County, which increased the per-household annual net income of nearly 400 local farm households to over 6,000 RMB.

Labor services training and export. Sinopec held many skill-training seminars in these four poor counties, involving 1,800 participants engaged in numerically controlled machine operations, electronics, and electrical engineering, machinery manufacturing, driving, computer operation and clothes making. Over 85% of the trainees found jobs after training.

  Help dropouts return to school

Helping numerous school dropouts out of financial difficulties and back to school is the commitment of all Sinopec people.

Help girl dropouts through the Spring Bud Program

Spring Bud Program is an epitome of Sinopec’s commitments to the cause of education in the country. Since the program was launched in 2004, Sinopec has provided financial assistance to over 30,000 girl students in 26 state-level poverty-stricken counties in Sichuan, Gansu, Guizhou and Hunan provinces (including 9,960 high school girl students) for completion of Grade 4 to 6 of primary school and high school education.

In 2009, Sinopec donated 11.95 million RMB to 9,960 high school girl students in the aforesaid four provinces for completion of their high school education. In June the same year, 3,320 high school girl students completed their high school education and took part in the national college entrance examination, of whom 1,614 were enrolled by universities and colleges, including 405 ethnic minority students. These girls are blessed with a promising prospect thanks to the help of Sinopec.

The implementation of Spring Bud Program generates tremendous social benefits by promoting education in poor areas considerably weakening the sexism prevailing in poor areas and making local residents more aware of the importance of education, as evidenced by the fact that 96% of beneficiary parents expressed their determination to have their children educated no matter how poor they might be. Along with the implementation of the Spring Bud Program, more firms and individuals joined this charitable event.

“I chose to be enrolled by China University of Petroleum simply because I want to dedicate my career to the petrochemical industry of our country,” said Fu Haijuan, a beneficiary of Spring Bud Program from Zhangchuan County of Gansu Province, who was enrolled by China University of Petroleum with the second highest national entrance examination score in her county.

Mengen Subude, a Mongolian nationality girl from Subei County of Gansu Province who was admitted to Minzu University of China, said, “I am lucky to have this life-changing chance given by Sinopec, but there are numerous poor teenagers out there just like me who do not have such chance. I will study hard and successfully complete my college education so that I can do something for my hometown.”

Help build Project Hope primary schools

Sinopec people believe children deserve the access to education. Over the past years, Sinopec built many Project Hope primary schools in poor areas in the hope of leaving no child behind. A growing number of new school buildings, smiley faces and scenes of attentive learning all represent the philanthropic care of Sinopec people.

In 2009, Sinopec built 40 more Project Hope primary schools, which covered building area of 24,000 square meters. Of them, Yangsheng Primary School and Shuikou Primary School in Yuexi County of Anhui Province were put into use and took in 236 primary school students in total.

Since 2008, Sinopec has donated 2 million RMB each year to support poor high school and college students from the aforesaid poor counties. Over the past two years, Sinopec donated 4 million RMB to 2,434 students from these four poor counties, including 2,009 high school students and 425 new college entrants. This not only helped these students complete their education but more importantly motivated them to study harder on campus. Letters of gratitude from these beneficiary students flooded in to express their feeling of gratitude and commitment to academic excellence.

Long Xiaoyan, a Miao nationality high school girl student from remote mountainous area, excels in academic performance yet suffers serious poverty. She once thought of dropping out of school because of inability to pay for her college education. It is Sinopec’s Spring Bud Program that reignited her hope for future. She wrote in her letter of gratitude, “I will never forget the moment when I received the donations from Sinopec management because you relit my hope for a better future. What you gave me is not merely timely help but more of a life-changing opportunity. I will return your favor with my academic excellence and with my contribution to society.”

  Lifeline Express initiative “Eliminate Cataracts in Poor Areas”

Lifeline Express is a mobile ophthalmic hospital that consists of four well-equipped 4-compartment trains and veteran ophthalmic doctors and nurses from Beijing and Hong Kong that travel throughout the country to provide free medical services to people in need. Lifeline Express trains travel year-round to provide surgeries to cataract patients in remote and poor areas including cataract removal and man-made lens implantation.

Sinopec is the biggest corporate contributor to Lifeline Express in China. Since 2004, Sinopec has donated about 75.40 million RMB to Lifeline Express Foundation and Sinopec-sponsored Lifeline Express trains have reached remote areas in ten-plus provinces and regions, including Tibet, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Jilin and Inner Mongolia, providing free operations to about 15,000 cataract patients.

In March 2009, Lifeline Express train, the fourth Lifeline Express train, financed exclusively by Sinopec with 30 million RMB, was put into use, which is the first train hospital financed exclusively by a Chinese enterprise. The Sinopec train is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and operating instrument set. This train enables Lifeline Express to reach 12 railway stations a year and provide cataract removal operations to 3,000 more patients. In 2009, Sinopec donated 10.40 million RMB to Lifeline Express Foundation and 3,565 more cataract patients in remote areas of Sichuan, Jilin and Guangxi provinces regained their sight as a result.

Sinopec won high recognition of local governments and people and many honorary titles from Lifeline Express Foundation and government for its outstanding contribution to the elimination of cataracts in poor areas. In 2009, Sinopec’s Lifeline Express cataract removal program was recognized by Jilin Municipal Government as one of the top ten charitable events of the year. At the annual conference of China Lifeline Express Foundation held on November 30, 2009, Sinopec was the only one to win the Cataract Elimination Award of the year.

Sinopec-sponsored Lifeline Express train carries back the strongest and simplest feeling of gratitude of cataract patients while bringing them sunshine.

A 13-year-old Hui nationality cataract patient living in rural area of Hualong County of Qinghai Province wrote in his letter of gratitude: “I am from a poor farm family, without enough money to take cataract removal operation at hospital. Over the years, cataract plagued our family very badly. It is Sinopec’s Lifeline Express program that changed the lives of my elder sister and mine and brought us sunshine. We will never forget your great kindness. My elder sister and I will study harder, and follow your example to help those people in need when we grow up.”