Sinopec abides by international and local laws and regulations on production safety and occupational health. It makes efforts to protect the safety of employees and enterprises by establishing a production safety management system; ensuring investment in safety improvement; preventing and controlling safety risks; conducting safety training; protecting the physical and mental health of employees; and improving overseas public safety management among other things. It applies the green and low carbon concept in overseas business operations; responds to climate change and protects the earth by strengthening environmental management and control; engages in green production; implements green construction; and protects the environment and biodiversity.

Case study

Sinopec establishes green and eco-friendly brand by optimizing green production technology

Ecuador, a South American country with a forest coverage rate of over 68%, is known as the "lungs of the earth". The government imposes strict requirements on safety and environmental protection; and PetroEcuador requires that the drill cuttings reinjection technology must be used to treat the cuttings and mud sewage in the drilling and production in the rainforest area. Also, the safety and environmental protection performance of the service provider is to be used as one of the bases for expanding cooperation in the future.

In the beginning, the Chinese employees of Ecuador project of the Sinopec East China Oil Engineering Co. Ltd. only tried reinjection and grinding, but neglected the relationship between the reinjection rate and equipment wear and formation digestibility, resulting in frequent problems such as pipeline plugging and low grinding efficiency. Later, faced with the requirements given by PetroEcuador, they optimized the cuttings grinding and particle screening process, and increased the efficiency by improving related equipment. A project engineer said: "Now we can process the cuttings, waste slurry and sewage from 3 drilling teams at the same time; and have developed methods such as 'separating the dry and the wet'; and 'sieving slurry and cuttings together', which greatly improves the work efficiency and protects the local rainforest."

SIPC Canada enjoys high yield in environment protection and benefits with carbon emission reduction efforts

Canada levied a corporate carbon tax since 2019, with the tax rate rising year by year. To minimize the impact of carbon tax on its benefits, Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corporation (SIPC) Canada promoted the transformation and development of clean energy, and established a "clean energy working group" in early 2021. Now, the group takes measures to reduce carbon emissions, which not only helps the company increase efficiency, greatly reduce the carbon tax expenditure of SIPC Canada, and also fulfill Sinopec's commitment to carbon emission reduction.

SIPC Canada applied for and took the lead in joining the "Technology Innovation and Emission Reduction" project established by the Alberta government; screened various types of emission equipment at oilfield sites; and upgraded 433 high-exhaust air pressure controllers to low-exhaust devices. Since the implementation of the optimization efforts in 2020, it has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 53,228 tonnes, which is equivalent to nearly 11,500 cars being taken off the roads for a year. Meanwhile, it has achieved the goal of reducing the cumulative emissions in 2021 by 10% compared with the previous year, ahead of local counterparts. SIPC Canada has been recognized by the local government for its emission reduction effects while reducing carbon tax expenditures of about CAD 4.5 million. Besides, Bluesource agreed to invest nearly CAD 1 million in optimizing and upgrading SIPC Canada's air-control system and compressor exhaust system. After the equipment upgrade, both parties can share the carbon credits from the government, which is expected to bring more than CAD1 million worth carbon credits to each of the two parties in 2021 and 2022.

Sinopec Zhongyuan Engineering Company acclaimed in African market for its green construction practices

Over the years, the ZPEB0103 cementing team of the Africa Project Department of Sinopec Zhongyuan Oil Engineering Co. Ltd. Cementing Company has innovated and developed green technology; and implemented green construction and QHSSE management in an all-round way. It is on par with its international counterparts for the well cementing acceptability rate and excellence rate, and is highly acclaimed by investors and project owners in Africa.

In conventional cementing construction, the 1.5-tonne-bag of cement was manually opened and mixed with additives in the cement tank. Such a practice could lead to flying dust to pollute the air and affect the health of workers. To resolve the problem, the ZPEB0103 cementing team developed a cement hopper and a dust collector with tests and improvements over the years. The updated equipment not only effectively lowers the labor used and reduces the dispersion of cement dust, but also protects the environment.

After the well cementing, the on-site cleaning of the cement trucks involves connection and disassembly of pipelines and opening and closing of gates, which inevitably causes dispersion of cement dust or additives, and consequently pollution of underground water. So, the team optimized the pipeline disassembly process, and laid anti-seepage plastic sheets under all equipment to ensure zero spillage and zero contact with the earth.

SEG protects eco-system with "Civilized Marine Construction" Campaign in Saudi Arabia

Sinopec cares about the marine environment where the project is located, and has taken measures to protect the environment and biodiversity to create a clean and eco-friendly habitat for marine life. In August 2021, the fifth construction company of SEG, the project owner Saudi Aramco and its partners jointly carried out the "Civilized Marine Construction" Campaign near the Berri Oil and Gas Treatment Project, collecting and removing coastal waste and domestic garbage near the project. About 1 tonne of various types of waste and garbage was collected and removed, greatly reducing the impact on the marine ecosystem. Besides, this activity improved employees' awareness of environmental protection, and demonstrated the company's determination to further implement the Green Enterprise Campaign.​​​