Workers lay asphalt on Chang'an Avenue in the center of Beijing in preparation for the Sept 3 parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. (Photo provided to China Daily)
China National Offshore Oil Corp, China's largest offshore oil and gas producer, is participating in the Sept 3 parade which marks the 70th anniversary of the country's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression by putting its self-developed asphalt products on the main roads of the event in Beijing.[Special coverage]
After being used twice in 2009 and 2014 for Chang'an Avenue rebuilding projects, it is the third time that the high-quality asphalt is being used for a national event. About 15,000 metric tons of asphalt was used this time for the parade.
"The Beijing municipal government held several meetings to discuss urban roads maintenance projects this year. The authorities had strict requirements on the asphalt that was to be used, including good resistance to water damage and low temperature resistance cracking.
It was necessary for the product to resist high temperature rutting. The product also needed to be convenient and safe for long-distance delivery and not pollute the air," said a statement from CNOOC.
Xu Jiahai, general manager of China Offshore Bitumen Co Ltd, a subsidiary of CNOOC, said the company formed a team to develop an asphalt product for the Sept 3 parade because of the special requirements such as skid-proofing, noise reduction and pressure resistance.
"The asphalt－CNOOC 36-1, can meet all the requirements for the parade. It is a high-end product that is one of a kind," he said. "Interestingly, the raw material for the asphalt is heavy oil produced in the Bohai Bay region, a product rejected by many refineries due to its low quality.
"Through technology innovation and processing procedures, the company produced asphalt from such heavy oil, or in other words, turned the waste into wealth," Xu said.
China's high-end asphalt market has been dominated by foreign brands since the 1990s.
"We used to depend on imports and the price was high," said Zhu Yuming, general manager of CNOOC's oil and gas development and utilization subsidiary.
CNOOC established the utilization company in 1999, focusing on adding value to upstream products. After years of research and marketing, the company's asphalt sales reached more than 2.6 million tons annually, accounting for about one quarter of the domestic high-end asphalt market.
By the end of 2014, the company provided 23.4 million tons of asphalt to the market for more than 5,600 projects, including 654 expressways, 23 airports and five hydropower stations.
Buoyed by the strong domestic sales, the company has also been expanding into the overseas markets. The high-speed railway in Turkey, the main stadium for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics' main stadium in Brazil have all chosen CNOOC's asphalt.
"It is a big honor for our company to contribute to the Sept 3 parade," Zhu said. "We have been following the strategy of differentiation of products and brand building, which helped us win several prestigious projects."
During the first six months of the year, China imported 2.17 million tons of asphalt, up 6.48 percent year-on-year. Products from South Korea and Singapore accounted for 92 percent of the total. During the same period, China's asphalt exports rose by 22 percent to 128,000 tons, according to data provided by the customs authorities.
In addition to the asphalt, the fighter jets which will fly over the Tian'anmen Square during the parade are wearing a special coating developed by CNOOC.
The coating material is anti-corrosive and resistant to high temperatures and is widely used in aerospace equipment.
In the past, the company made only coatings for equipment on land. As the technology grew and market changed, the company started to develop coating products that can be used for aircraft and marine equipment including offshore drilling platforms.
