Sinopec Reveals Social Aspect of Fuling Project

Sinopec Group, Asia's largest oil and gas refiner, has released an environ-mental, social and governance report on its shale gas development, the first of its kind in China. 

Jiao Fangzheng, Sinopec's vice-president, said its shale gas exploration program is being developed based on three principles: operation security, water protection and community communication. 

The Fuling project, fully owned by Sinopec, started commercialized production in March last year. The company has built 2 billion cubic meters of production capacity at the site, enough to meet the natural gas consumption needs of 8 million residents for a year. 

"Fuling's shale gas output has been created first and foremost for local residential use, with an expected daily supply of 3.6 million cubic meters of gas," he said. 

"We have tried our best to reduce the negative impact on local people's lives," he said. "The operational hours are strictly controlled to cut noise, and the timetable for transporting water, for instance, is also scheduled to avoid raising dust." 

To improve what the company claims were local mis-understandings about shale gas development, Sinopec has run an awareness campaign as well as created a system for handling any questions or worries people might have. 

(chinadaily,Edited by Topco)