Dagang Petrochemical Co, a China National Petroleum Corp subsidiary, has announced that it will invest 550 million yuan ($86.5 million) to continue its environmental protection campaign in Tianjin.

"The capital will be used for gasoline and ethanol production that using environmental protection techniques and sulfur treatment, and a number of other deep processing projects for gas waste," said Liu Hualin, deputy-general manager of Dagang Petrochemical.

The move was launched during the CNPC open day on June 1 when local citizens and authorities were shown the results of Dagang Petrochemical's previous environmental protection projects, which were supported by a 200 million yuan investment.

The additional 550 million yuan will boost the campaign, Liu said.

During the event, Liu showcased the company's progress in 16 massive technology upgrade projects to protect the environment last year.

They included a 10.8 million yuan project to treat sulfur tail gas emissions, which could reduce annual oxynitride emissions by 130 tons, equivalent to the emissions of 216,000 cars.

Waste water, sludge oil sediment and dust treatment projects have also been set up, which could result in 3,000 tons of recycled oil products and a 2,000 ton reduction in sludge annually.

To allow the public to assess the results of its projects, the company invited 11 individuals to become inspectors, including private company owners, teachers and other local residents.

The inspectors will survey the results of the projects and report their findings to local governments.

Gao Rong, a retiree, said she will visit the production sites frequently to examine the progress and help improve environmental protection awareness among local residents.

During the event, Xu Wenrong, deputy-general manager of CNPC, said that open days will be held in 50 other subsidiaries besides Dagang during the second half this year, in a bid to increase public awareness of the company's environmental protection campaign.

During the open day, CNPC also announced its annual CSR report. It said its annual carbon dioxide emissions will be slashed by a quarter by 2020 compared with 2015. In 2030, CNPC's natural gas production volume will account for 55 percent of the company's total.

In 2050, its low carbon emissions will meet top international standards. Statistics in the report indicated, CNPC's natural gas sales hit 151.8 billion cubic meters last year, a record high.

During the 12th Five-year Plan period (2011-15), CNPC planted 38 million trees and in 2017, an additional 2.18 million were planted.

yangcheng@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/07/2018 page18)