Sinopec CCUS Strategy, 1 M Ton/Year Qilu Project, Kazakhstan Deal, and New Carbon Footprint Alliance (2025)

Sinopec’s CCUS Project Adoption and Commercial Scale

In 2025, Sinopec is cementing its carbon management strategy by prioritizing the commercial deployment of point-source Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) over investment in nascent Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology. This approach leverages the company’s existing industrial assets for immediate, large-scale decarbonization, a pragmatic choice given that current DAC costs range from $500 to $1, 000 per ton of CO 2. By focusing on proven CCUS, Sinopec builds operational expertise and establishes revenue streams through enhanced oil recovery (EOR), deferring significant capital exposure to the still-developing DAC market.

Sinopec’s Qilu-Shengli CCUS Project

The company’s strategy is anchored by the full-scale operation of its flagship Qilu-Shengli CCUS cluster, China’s first megaton-level project in this category. This project demonstrates a significant strategic shift from the development and construction phase of 2021-2024 to full commercial operation in 2025. The facility now captures 1 million tons of CO 2 per year from the Sinopec Qilu refinery, which is then transported via a 109-kilometer pipeline for use in EOR and permanent storage at the Shengli oilfield. This project serves as a key domestic model for integrating industrial decarbonization with resource production.

Sinopec’s Niche Market Applications

Beyond large-scale industrial projects, Sinopec demonstrated an expansion of its technology portfolio in 2025 by deploying specialized carbon capture solutions for high-value niche markets. This marks a new commercial direction compared to its earlier focus on heavy industry. The company successfully implemented advanced capture systems designed for the pharmaceutical sector, capable of purifying captured CO 2 to meet stringent pharmaceutical-grade quality standards. This move into specialized applications diversifies its revenue potential and showcases the versatility of its proprietary capture technologies.

Sinopec CCUS Investments, Ningbo Projects and Qilu Operations (2025)

Sinopec’s 2025 investment activity indicates a clear focus on scaling its CCUS infrastructure and developing high-value applications for its capture technology, with no major disclosed capital allocated to DAC projects. The company’s spending is concentrated on expanding its domestic CCUS footprint through new projects and optimizing its flagship operational asset, reflecting a strategy of reinforcing its leadership in point-source capture while generating immediate returns.

Table: Sinopec Carbon Capture Investment and Deployment (2025)

Global Expansion, Sinopec Kazakhstan CCUS and Domestic Alliance (2025)

Sinopec aggressively pursued both international and domestic partnerships in 2025 to expand its technological influence and create a supportive market ecosystem for its carbon management solutions. This represents a strategic evolution from the domestically focused project development seen between 2021 and 2024. The company is now actively exporting its CCUS expertise while simultaneously working to standardize carbon accounting practices within China, positioning itself as a leader in both technology deployment and market rule-setting.

Sinopec’s International Technology Export

A key development in early 2025 was Sinopec’s partnership with state organizations in Kazakhstan to advance and expand CCUS technology globally. This collaboration signals a clear intent to move beyond domestic implementation and become an international technology and service provider in the carbon capture sector. This move leverages the operational expertise gained from the Qilu-Shengli project to enter new markets and build a global footprint in industrial decarbonization.

Sinopec’s Domestic Ecosystem Building

In a significant domestic move, Sinopec announced the launch of the “Carbon Footprint Alliance” in June 2025. The alliance aims to create a standardized system for carbon footprint management across various industries in China. By leading this initiative, Sinopec is not just a technology user but is actively shaping the market infrastructure and regulatory environment for a low-carbon economy, which will directly support its CCUS and future carbon removal business lines.

Table: Sinopec Carbon Capture Partnerships and Alliances (2025)

Geographic Focus, Sinopec’s China-Centric Hubs and Global Export

Sinopec’s geographic strategy for carbon management in 2025 is dual-pronged, focusing on developing large-scale CCUS hubs in key industrial regions of China while simultaneously initiating its first major international technology export partnership. This marks a shift from the 2021-2024 period, which was almost exclusively centered on the development of the single Qilu-Shengli project in Shandong province. The current strategy aims to create a network of domestic assets while establishing a foothold in foreign markets.

Sinopec’s Domestic Hub Expansion

The core of Sinopec’s activity remains in China, where it is building a network of CCUS hubs. The fully operational Qilu-Shengli cluster in Shandong serves as the blueprint. In 2025, the company expanded this domestic focus by announcing the development of two new CCUS projects in Ningbo, a major industrial and port city in Zhejiang province. This expansion creates a second major hub, targeting emissions from the heavily industrialized Yangtze River Delta region and reinforcing its strategy of co-locating capture facilities with its core petrochemical assets.

Sinopec’s Global Ambitions in Kazakhstan

The partnership with state entities in Kazakhstan in early 2025 represents Sinopec’s first significant step to internationalize its CCUS business. This move leverages its proven domestic success to enter the Central Asian market, an energy-rich region with significant potential for CCUS and EOR projects. This initiative positions Sinopec not just as a Chinese energy giant but as a potential global vendor for industrial decarbonization technology and services.

Sinopec’s Tech Strategy: Commercial CCUS, Exploratory DAC (2025)

Sinopec’s technology strategy in 2025 is defined by a clear distinction between commercially mature CCUS and exploratory-stage DAC. While the company has achieved megaton-scale deployment with its point-source capture technology, its involvement in DAC remains at a much earlier, developmental stage. This two-speed approach allows Sinopec to meet current decarbonization needs with proven technology while building foundational capabilities in next-generation solid sorbents that could be applied to DAC in the long term.

Sinopec’s Megaton-Scale Point-Source Capture

The centerpiece of Sinopec’s technological achievement is its fully operational, industrial-scale CCUS technology. The success of the 1 million ton per year Qilu-Shengli project validates its proprietary capture process under real-world conditions. In 2025, the company further proved the adaptability of this technology by deploying it in the pharmaceutical industry. This demonstrates a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at the commercial deployment stage (TRL 8-9) for point-source applications.

Sinopec’s Nascent DAC Exploration

In contrast, Sinopec’s DAC efforts are in their infancy. Reports from May 2025 indicate the company is utilizing a modular carbon capture system based on solid sorbent technology for DAC applications. This suggests it is exploring solid-state pathways, which are a key area of research for lowering the energy penalty of DAC. However, with global operational DAC capacity at only 10, 000 tons per year in 2025, Sinopec’s activities in this area are consistent with the broader industry’s early-stage, pre-commercial status (TRL 4-6).

SWOT Analysis, Sinopec’s CCUS Strengths and DAC Cost Hurdles

Sinopec’s 2025 carbon management strategy is built on the strength of its massive industrial integration and operational expertise in CCUS, but it faces threats from the high cost of DAC and long-term policy uncertainty. The company’s key opportunity lies in leveraging its CCUS leadership to become a dominant global service provider, while its primary weakness is its current lack of a commercial-scale DAC offering in a market that is projected to grow rapidly.

Table: SWOT Analysis for Sinopec Carbon Management Initiatives (2025)

Sinopec’s Next Moves: Kazakhstan Execution and DAC Pilot Signals

The critical indicator of Sinopec’s carbon management strategy in the year ahead will be its ability to convert its 2025 partnership agreements into tangible projects and demonstrate progress in maturing its DAC technology. If Sinopec announces specific project timelines and capture capacities for its joint CCUS ventures in Kazakhstan, it would confirm its successful transition into a global technology exporter. This would signal a major strategic validation of its focus on scaling proven CCUS technology.

Execution in New Markets

Watch for further details on the development of the two CCUS projects in Ningbo, including their intended capture volumes, targeted industries, and operational start dates. Progress here would show that the Qilu-Shengli project was not a one-off but a repeatable model for decarbonizing China’s industrial centers. A key signal would be any direct offtake agreements linking this captured CO 2 to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) producers, a critical pathway for CO 2 utilization.

Maturation of DAC Technology

While large-scale DAC is a long-term play, any announcement of a pilot project moving to a larger demonstration scale would be a significant milestone. Specifically, watch for disclosures related to the performance of its solid-sorbent technology. Such a move would indicate that Sinopec is accelerating its R&D and preparing to compete in the negative emissions market, moving DAC from a strategic research topic to a developing business line. The company’s strategy of becoming a comprehensive “Oil, Gas, Hydrogen, Power, and Service” provider could see it use captured CO 2 for blue hydrogen or synthetic fuels, creating an internal use case.

The questions your competitors are already asking

This report covers one angle of Sinopec’s commercial trajectory in carbon management. The questions that matter most depend on your work.

• Sinopec Kazakhstan carbon capture project details
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• Major commercial carbon capture projects globally
• China’s national policy on carbon capture credits

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