Sinopec Plans $1.5 bln spend To Boost Energy Efficiency

Asia's top refiner Sinopec plans to spend some four billion yuan ($644.23 million) on more than 800 projects in 2014 as part of a strategy to double its energy efficiency in 10 years, local media reported on Friday.

Sinopec, known as China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, will also invest close to 10 billion yuan ($1.61 billion) on about a thousand new projects in 2015, Chairman Fu Chengyu was quoted as saying in the China Securities Journal.

The report did not specify if it was Sinopec Group, or its listed unit , that would make the investments. Fu is the chairman of both entities.

Fu said Sinopec will increase clean energy in its production mix and raise development in gas, as well as unconventional oil and gas resources. It will also boost spending on renewables, like geothermal, solar, wind and biomass.

As part of its energy efficiency programme Sinopec aims to raise efficiency by 20 percent in 2014, or 14 million tonnes of coal equivalent, by cutting consumption at its refineries and power plants and improving its oil pumping systems.

By 2020, Sinopec aims to increase its energy efficiency by to 65 percent to achieve 32 million tonnes of coal equivalent savings.

(Reporting by Fayen Wong and Chen Yixin; Editing by Michael Perry)

($1 = 6.2090 Chinese Yuan Renminbi)