Sinopec, KNPC Accept Hart Energy Awards

SAN ANTONIO, March 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Officials with Sinopec and Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) accepted Hart Energy's Refining & Energy Company of the Year awards here at the Hart executive briefing, "Refining, Fuels & Transportation: Working Together Towards a Sustainable Future."

Sinopec won its Hart Energy award for leadership in refining as the International Refining Company of the Year, and Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) received its Hart Energy award for excellence in global energy, recognized as the International Energy Company of the Year honoree.

Accepting the award on behalf of Sinopec was Mr. Guo Qun, Director, Professor Senior Engineer of the Refining Division of Sinopec's Science & Technology Development Department.  "It's my great honor to receive this distinguished award on behalf of Sinopec," Guo told the Hart conference here. "Sinopec has been enjoying cooperation with Hart Energy for decades now," Guo said, before welcoming continued global partnerships in the decades ahead.

Accepting the award on behalf of Kuwait National Petroleum Company was Khaled Mubarak Mohammad Al-Mushileh who serves KNPC as Manager of the Corporate Planning Department and Mohammed Ghazi Al-Mutairi, Deputy Managing Director of the Mina Abdulla Refinery. "Timing is important, and we are very honored to receive this award at this honorable time for us – the 50th anniversary of the formation of KNPC," Al-Mutairi said. "We are committed to energy stability in the world, and also, we are looking forward to our Clean Fuel Project and Mega Project, which at 615,000 barrels per day is considered the biggest grassroots refinery project in the world," Al-Mutairi said.

"For 24 years, we at Hart Energy have had a long history of recognizing excellence in and International Refining and Global Energy Excellence," said Frederick L. Potter, executive vice president, Hart Energy. "These companies exemplify the traditions that are embodied in this prestigious award. Both Sinopec and KNPC are dedicated to further investment in the refining and energy sectors, improving the quality of their products, and raising the financial, environmental, and health-and-safety performance of their refining and energy operations."

In selecting the Global Refiner of the Year, Hart Energy's awards committee considers corporate achievement in three primary categories:

• Cleaner Environment -- Producing cleaner, higher-quality gasoline and diesel fuel is among the greatest achievements recognized each year.
• Investment and Corporate Growth -- The award recognizes recipients operating with the highest international refining standards and innovative use of resources in diverse environments.
• Vision -- Recipients are recognized for innovation, global vision and ability to look into the future as a response to current conditions will not fully meet rising public demands or yield industry benefits.

Award Goes to Sinopec Group, Asia's top oil refiner by capacity.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), Asia's largest oil refiner, has ranked first for six consecutive years on the list of the top 500 Chinese corporations as measured by revenue. Globally, Sinopec, a company established in 1998 and solely invested by the state of China, is now ranked as 7th in Fortune Global 500. Its operating revenue is $U.S. 187.5 billion.

Aside from refining, Sinopec is one of the largest integrated energy and chemical companies in China. The scope of its business mainly covers the entire integrated oil and gas value chain, from upstream to downstream and across into chemicals and petrochemicals.

Sinopec has always attached great importance to social and environmental issues in order to ensure sustainable development. The company has fully implemented its Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) management system and adopted a variety of methods in energy saving and emission reduction – in particular CO2 emission reduction - to promote a low-carbon economy.

Sinopec Corp. has a history of high attention to environmental protection, including the production of clean fuels and the upgrading of product quality in China in which it has invested RMB 20.1 billion to date. The company pioneered production of new oil product standards in China, supplying Beijing's market with gasoline meeting EU III discharging standard from July 1, 2005 followed with gasoline meeting the EU IV discharge standard in 2008. By October 2009, Sinopec began offering Shanghai drivers the same gasoline meeting state IV discharging standards, and expanded its provision of gasoline meeting state III discharging standards to 12 provinces and cities including Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong and Tianjin, etc. from December 13, 2009.

Ever intent on expanding the reach of its business units, the company made an entrance into the South American upstream oil and gas sector with its December 10 announcement of plans to buy the entire oil and gas assets of the Argentinean arm of US-based Occidental Petroleum Corp for U.S. $2.45 billion. Furthermore, on March 18, Sinopec formed a partnership with Saudi Aramco to co-invest in a world-class refinery in Yanbu, in Saudi Aramco by 2014.

Sinopec is also distinguished by becoming the 100th member of the International Fuel Quality Center of Hart Energy in 2005.

Award Goes to KNPC in the Organization's "Jubilee Year"

For its part, KNPC since its establishment five decades ago in 1960 has demonstrated a strong commitment to excellence including:  

KNPC has amassed a state-of-the–art fleet of refineries, the most complex in the Middle East, to enable the production and refining of fuels at three refineries; Mina Abdulla, Mina Al Ahmadi, Mina Al Shuaiba with a total processing capacity of 936,000 barrels a day of crude oil to supply not only their own country with sufficient petroleum products but also supports other Middle East and Asian countries.

Demonstrating a pioneering effort in advancing clean fuel technology, in 1996, Kuwait was the first Middle Eastern country to follow European fuel regulations and face out the use of leaded gasoline. Currently, they are also upgrading their refineries to produce even cleaner fuels with lower sulfur content in gasoline and diesel.

KNPC was first among the Middle Eastern companies to go downstream in the European refining market with establishing Q8. Not one to rest, KNPC is planning to build Kuwait's fourth oil refinery, to be located at Al Zour. KNPC has completed FEED and is preparing for the initiation of a new refinery to support the growing demand in Middle East and Asia. The country's Supreme Petroleum Council is currently reviewing the plan for the refinery expected to start by 2015. Part of its core plan, the 615,000 b/d new Mega Refinery Project (MRP) which is considered the largest grassroots refinery in the world and will also help meet domestic fuel requirements for power generation as well as the Clean Fuel Project (CFP 2020) project to enable deep conversion and production of Euro-4 specification products for export.

KNPC is one of the pioneers in the region's progress along the health, safety and environment front, and is among the first companies in Kuwait to become certified to OHSAS 18001, internationally recognized standard on Occupational health and safety management. KNPC has also been recognized with the First Place Offshore Arabia Environmental Award organized by the Regional Clean Sea Organization (RECSO) for the preparedness for Oil Spill Response Management and has funded the establishment of the KNPC Nature Reserve Project at Wafra to protect endangered flora and fauna of Kuwait.

KNPC's strategy also includes a sharp focus on corporate social responsibilities as well as including numerous community participation/support programs at multiple educational levels, sports and cultural activities, and health and financial well-being initiatives.

This is the 24th consecutive year that Hart Energy Publishing has recognized Excellence in Global Energy and Refining Operations. Previous winners include:

Hart Energy Consulting is a division of Hart Energy Publishing, LLLP, a leading information provider to the world's energy industry.  Multi-client consulting services include the International Fuel Quality Center, the Global Biofuels Center and an annual Crude, Refining & Clean Transportation Fuel Outlook to 2030.  Headquartered in Houston, with offices in New York, London, Washington, Brussels, Bogota and Singapore, Hart Energy's market-leading publications include Oil and Gas Investor, E&P, FUEL and Midstream Business.  The Company also produces or provides various electronic newsletters, exclusive member-only web portals, custom publishing products, mapping and GIS data services, and a variety of conferences and exhibitions.

SOURCE Hart Energy

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED