{
  "id": 3286441,
  "title": "China’s Top Refiner Seeks Transformation amid Falling Fuel Sales",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/chinas-top-refiner-seeks-transformation-amid-falling-fuel-sales",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-25T14:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "OilPrice",
    "slug": "oilprice",
    "url": "https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Chinas-Top-Refiner-Seeks-Transformation-amid-Falling-Fuel-Sales.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "China's largest oil refiner, state-owned Sinopec, is seeking to transform its operations as domestic fuel sales plummet due to the rise of electric vehicles. The company, officially known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, plans to invest more in new energy and chemicals by the end of the decade to boost revenues and profits, as domestic fuel sales have not been this low in nearly a decade. Sinopec's chairman, Hou Qijun, acknowledged that the company's size hinders its ability to respond to market changes, a phenomenon he refers to as the \"big company syndrome.\" In its latest report, Sinopec cited falling domestic fuel sales as a major factor behind its declining earnings for the past two years. The company attributed the decline to high oil prices dampening demand and the growing shift towards new energy sources, with domestic refined oil product consumption dropping by 8.6% year on year, with gasoline down by 7.9% and diesel by 11.5%. Meanwhile, jet fuel kerosene showed a slight increase of 1.3%, driven by holiday travel and the recovery of international flights. Additionally, domestic demand for major chemical products weakened, with ethylene consumption declining by 9.9% year on year. Sinopec's marketing and distribution segment also saw a 1.5% year on year revenue decline, primarily due to the drop in refined oil product sales volume caused by high oil prices and the growing substitution of new energy. Hou Qijun is keen on developing shale oil fields, promoting sustainable aviation fuels, and reducing refining costs to make Sinopec more resilient against the declining fuel demand in China. Hou pointed out that with fewer cars relying on gasoline and diesel, it is questionable how producing more of these fuels can continue to generate revenue.",
  "summary": "The world’s biggest oil refiner, China’s state-held Sinopec, is looking to transform its business as domestic fuel sales crumble amid the electric vehicle boom. China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, as Sinopec is officially known, will be allocating more capital to new energy and chemicals by the end of the decade to grow revenues and profits amid the lowest domestic fuel sales in China in…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}