In 2025, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) took market demand as the guide and focused on optimizing product mix to drive the transformation and upgrading of traditional refining by-products into high value-added products. With targeted layout and coordinated efforts, the Group realized explosive sales growth of high-end customized products and markedly improved profitability, delivering strong momentum for the high-quality development of its refining business.
The Group delivered outstanding results across two core business tracks: high-end carbon materials and special modified asphalt. Annual sales of high-end carbon materials exceeded 3 million tons, tripling the volume of the previous year. Output of special coke for lithium battery anodes surpassed 1 million tons, with its domestic market share rising to 29% and ranking first nationwide. Riding the rapid expansion of new energy vehicle and energy storage industries, this product precisely matches production demands of lithium battery anode materials and has become a core profit generator for the Group.
Meanwhile, the modified asphalt business maintained explosive growth with sales surging 202% year-on-year. Supported by superior product performance and customized technical services, SINOPEC has built a well-known brand reputation in national major transportation infrastructure projects, with its profit contribution climbing steadily year by year.
SINOPEC fully leverages the integrated coordination mechanism of "production, sales, research and application" to accurately assess unit capacity potential across all manufacturing subsidiaries and continuously expand production capacity for premium products. In 2025, six new subsidiaries including Beihai Refining & Chemical and Shijiazhuang Refining joined the production layout of anode coke. Another five manufacturers such as Jingmen Petrochemical and Jiujiang Petrochemical launched mass production of petroleum coke for prebaked anodes. Through capacity expansion and optimized geographic layout, the Group formed an industrial supply system supported by multiple production bases with coordinated output.
On the marketing front, the Group adheres to the strategy of "retaining existing clients and exploring new market opportunities". While maintaining long-term partnerships with core leading customers, SINOPEC secured 11 new clients for anode coke and further diversified its customer portfolio. Drawing on advanced industrial experience, the Group promoted full-process refined management at production sites. Taking the petroleum coke production forecasting model developed by Guangzhou Petrochemical as a benchmark, the whole production chain from crude oil matching, process adjustment to quality inspection was comprehensively optimized to guarantee stable quality of high-end products and underpin large-volume stable supply.
Guided by market demand, SINOPEC took the lead in establishing a three-party linkage mechanism covering production, R&D and marketing teams to share real-time market updates and technological trends and accelerate product iteration and upgrading. The Group supported Yangzi Petrochemical and Zhenhai Refining & Chemical to independently develop petroleum coke for prebaked anodes and low-sulfur petroleum coke. R&D teams overcame technical bottlenecks in stable product quality, enabling mass production and commercial launch to fill supply gaps in high-end segmented carbon material markets.
In the modified asphalt sector, SINOPEC built a nationwide network of asphalt processing bases and deepened strategic cooperation with national key transportation projects. For landmark infrastructure such as Nanjing Xinshengwei Yangtze River Bridge, tailor-made special asphalt formulas were developed to adapt to complex construction conditions. Thanks to exceptional pavement durability and comfortable driving experience, the products won high recognition from project contractors and further consolidated the professional brand image of the "Donghai" asphalt series in high-end engineering projects. The business model of "customized R&D plus on-site technical service" not only satisfies strict material performance requirements of major infrastructure projects, but also strengthens technical barriers against market competitors.
Backed by a mature market analysis system and extensive global customer network, SINOPEC accurately adjusted sales schedules, responded flexibly to short-term supply and demand fluctuations, and seized policy windows to push rational recovery of product prices, consolidating its leading market position. The Group gave full play to its core advantages in resource allocation, technical service and quality control. Drawing on the "wall-to-wall supply" industrial chain collaboration model pioneered by Hunan Petrochemical, the Group eliminated bottlenecks between upstream and downstream links, cut losses from intermediate circulation and greatly improved overall operational efficiency of the full industrial chain.
Through value mining across the entire industrial chain, SINOPEC not only lifted profit margins of single products, but also constructed a closed-loop industrial system covering raw material supply, production, sales and technical services. This lays a solid foundation for large-scale promotion of high value-added products and creates a sustainable profit growth model.
Looking ahead, SINOPEC Refining & Sales Division will continue to deepen the development of high value-added new refining products, with a primary focus on promising tracks such as high-end specialty waxes. The domestic specialty wax market boasts an annual growth rate of 18%, while high-end segments remain heavily reliant on imports. Layout in this sector aligns with the industry trend toward high-end and diversified development, and can further expand value-added space for refining by-products.
Furthermore, the Group will push more refining by-products to transform from auxiliary by-products into core profit-making products, continuously enrich its portfolio of premium specialty products, and cultivate multiple new growth engines for the refining business. SINOPEC will seize strategic opportunities amid industrial structural adjustment and transformation to secure a leading competitive edge in the global refining industry.
