(Yicai Global) Sept. 23 -- Sinopec’s oil products refined from 30,000 tons of crude oil in Angola became China’s first batch of petroleum products with carbon neutral certifications yesterday, People’s Daily reported.

Sinopec, China Eastern Airlines and crude oil transporter China COSCO Shipping jointly purchased Chinese Certified Emission Reduction carbon credits to offset the carbon produced during the oil’s refining and shipping to China. The report did not disclose the specific transaction amount, but the three companies promised it would not be passed on to end consumers.

The crude oil was refined into 8,963 tons of auto gasoline, 2,276 tons of auto diesel, 5,417 tons of jet fuel, 2,786 tons of liquefied petroleum gas, 6,502 tons of marine diesel, and 2,998 tons of low-sulfur marine fuel oil, according to the report.

Liquefied natural gas trading has taken the lead in adapting to the low-carbon model, with large oil and gas companies having carried out carbon-neutral LNG trading in the past two years. Carbon-neutral LNG is gaining in competitiveness though the price is 17 percent to 37 percent higher than standard LNG, according to S&P Global Platts.

Beijing-based Sinopec will sell the carbon-neutral petrochemical products at gas stations this year and ensure that the price is the same as that of ordinary gasoline, the company said. China Eastern Airlines said it will use the jet fuel to launch special carbon-neutral flights for two months from Oct. 12.

The counterparties in the purchase of the carbon credits are seven emission-reduction projects across China, including carbon sink afforestation, photovoltaic power plants, wind farms, rural biogas utilization and biomass power generation, the report added.

Editor: Tom Litting