BEIJING, April 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation ("Sinopec"), China's leading energy and chemical company, officially commenced operations at its newly established oil depot at Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka, successfully refueling its first ship on April 7. Impacting primarily Northeast Africa and South Asia's oil market, Sinopec's Hambantota Port oil depot will enhance its comprehensive bunkering service capabilities, as a significant boost in its continued effort to expand its bunkering activity around the world.

Located on the southern tip of Sri Lanka, Hambantota Port is only ten nautical miles from the central Indian Ocean sea lane and is therefore of prime geographical importance. More than 1/2 of the world's container freight takes this route, as does 1/3 of bulk shipments and 2/3 of oil shipments. Given its strategic location, Hambantota Port has emerged as a key port on the Belt and Road. In 2019, Sinopec Fuel Oil obtained rights for oil trading and operations as well as oil depot maintenance through global bidding and subsequently registered a wholly-owned subsidiary in Sri Lanka.

As the COVID-19 outbreak intensifies around the world and fuel consumption drops, Sinopec has been committed to implementing epidemic control measures and resuming work and production, heeding the Chinese government's call to maintain stable foreign trade by expanding its overseas bunkering business. Prior to the start of the oil depot's operations, Sinopec Fuel Oil overcame the adverse impact unleashed by the outbreak by quickly adopting cloud office solutions. During this time, domestic experts provided remote support to inspect, approve, and jumpstart operations, enabling the port to successfully realize the first refueling mission at the new oil depot.

Sinopec Fuel Oil is the fuel oil and bunkering arm of Sinopec Group. With the vision to build a world-class integrated bunkering services provider and clean energy supplier, Sinopec's current fuel supply capacity covers more than 40 key ports domestically and overseas, supplying oil to more than 10,000 ships annually around the world.

About Sinopec

Sinopec Corp. is one of the largest integrated energy and chemical companies in China. Its principal operations include the exploration and production, pipeline transportation and sale of petroleum and natural gas; the sale, storage and transportation of petroleum products, petrochemical products, coal chemical products, synthetic fibre, fertiliser and other chemical products; the import and export, including an import and export agency business, of petroleum, natural gas, petroleum products, petrochemical and chemical products, and other commodities and technologies; and research, development and application of technologies and information.

Sinopec sets 'fueling beautiful life' as its corporate mission, puts 'people, responsibility, integrity, precision, innovation and win-win' as its corporate core values, pursues strategies of value-orientation, innovation-driven development, integrated resource allocation, open cooperation, and green and low-carbon growth, and strives to achieve its corporate vision of building a world leading energy and chemical company.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sinopec-continues-international-growth-begins-oil-depot-operations-at-sri-lankas-hambantota-port-301037999.html

SOURCE SINOPEC