CNOOC turns waste into wealth

Workers lay asphalt on Chang'an Avenue in the center of Beijing in preparation for the Sept 3 parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. [Photo provided to China Daily]

China National Offshore Oil Corp, China's largest offshore oil and gas producer, is participating in the Sept 3 parade which marks the 70th anniversary of the country's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression by putting its self-developed asphalt products on the main roads of the event in Beijing.

After being used twice in 2009 and 2014 for Chang'an Avenue rebuilding projects, it is the third time that the high-quality asphalt is being used for a national event. About 15,000 metric tons of asphalt was used this time for the parade.

"The Beijing municipal government held several meetings to discuss urban roads maintenance projects this year. The authorities had strict requirements on the asphalt that was to be used, including good resistance to water damage and low temperature resistance cracking.

It was necessary for the product to resist high temperature rutting. The product also needed to be convenient and safe for long-distance delivery and not pollute the air," said a statement from CNOOC.

Xu Jiahai, general manager of China Offshore Bitumen Co Ltd, a subsidiary of CNOOC, said the company formed a team to develop an asphalt product for the Sept 3 parade because of the special requirements such as skid-proofing, noise reduction and pressure resistance.

"The asphalt－CNOOC 36-1, can meet all the requirements for the parade. It is a high-end product that is one of a kind," he said. "Interestingly, the raw material for the asphalt is heavy oil produced in the Bohai Bay region, a product rejected by many refineries due to its low quality.

"Through technology innovation and processing procedures, the company produced asphalt from such heavy oil, or in other words, turned the waste into wealth," Xu said.

China's high-end asphalt market has been dominated by foreign brands since the 1990s.

"We used to depend on imports and the price was high," said Zhu Yuming, general manager of CNOOC's oil and gas development and utilization subsidiary.

CNOOC established the utilization company in 1999, focusing on adding value to upstream products. After years of research and marketing, the company's asphalt sales reached more than 2.6 million tons annually, accounting for about one quarter of the domestic high-end asphalt market.