DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Friday, August 27, 2021 | 9 BUSINESS right track Small fruits Sinopec’s new fuel find help local spells energy security farmers

By Zheng Xin in Beijing Located in the northern margin and Xing Wen in Urumqi of the Taklimakan Desert, the build brand Shunbei oil and gas field is one of China Corp, or Sin- the deepest oil and gas reservoirs BEIJING — Watermelons have opec Group, said on Thursday it has in the world. It is also Asia’s deep- brought Beijing farmer Li Wanbo discovered a new 200-million-ton est reservoir of its kind. 300,000 yuan ($46,200) this sum- oil and gas field in the Shunbei area Last October, with advanced mer alone, a great leap from when of the Tarim Basin in Northwest Chi- ultra-deep drilling technology, Sino- he worked in the city proper with a na’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous pec created the record for well drill- monthly salary of 4,000 yuan. region — and analysts promptly said ing in Asia with the 53-2H well, “I grew up with watermelons,” the find will likely help ensure which has a depth of 8,874 meters. said the 29-year-old man from Pang- domestic energy security. The accumulated crude produc- gezhuang, a township in southwest- An exploration well drilled by tion in the Shunbei oil and gas field ern Beijing famous for its sweet and Sinopec Northwest China Petrole- has exceeded 3 million tons by June crispy watermelons. “My father um Bureau, a subsidiary of Sino- and the natural gas production grew the flowering plant when I was pec, achieved a daily flow of 865 exceeded 1 billion cubic meters, a child, selling them near our home.” tons of crude oil and 590,000 cubic making the oil and gas field a key According to Li, new develop- meters of natural gas, said the driver of growth of the company’s ments in technology have enabled company. domestic oil and gas production. increased melon yields, as well as The government has been step- The accumulative proved petro- more ways to sell them. ping up domestic oil and gas leum geological reserves of Sino- A vessel, carrying two of the world’s largest industrial modules made by Wison Offshore and Marine “We now sell the fruit online exploration and increased capital pec Northwest China Petroleum Ltd, leaves Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, for Russia’s Murmansk. yao feng / for china daily through livestreaming shows to expenditure in both conventional Bureau have reached 1.5 billion consumers across the country and and non-conventional production tons so far, and that of natural gas deliver them via convenient express in recent years, said Luo Zuoxian, 74 billion cubic meters. Cumula- courier networks,” he said. head of intelligence and research tive oil and gas equivalent produc- Panggezhuang is now home to at the Sinopec Economics and tion has exceeded 140 million tons, 6,500 watermelon farmers like Li. Development Research Institute. making it one of China’s top 10 Located on the alluvial plain of the “The country’s three major oil onshore oil fields. Chinese firm supplies Yongding River, the township boasts and gas players — China National China National Petroleum Corp fertile soil with plenty of the trace Petroleum Corp, Sinopec and Chi- also announced the discovery of a elements required for growing na National Offshore Oil Corp — major shale oilfield in Daqing, Hei- watermelons, and has long enjoyed have all accelerated exploration longjiang province, on Wednes- the reputation of being China’s investment intensity during the day, with predicted geological modules to Russia “Land of Watermelons”. past few years with a series of reserves of about 1.268 billion The annual output of watermel- major breakthroughs,” he said. tons. It aims to produce more than ons in the township can hit 110 mil- “The country’s mastery of oil 1 million tons of shale oil annually Wison’s feat shows China’s prowess Because many large-scale energy lion kilograms, with the sales and gas exploration technology by 2025 from the Gulong shale oil projects are planned to be operated revenue reaching 230 million yuan a has also been on the rise and will formation in Daqing. in high-end products at remote areas or under harsh year, according to the local agricul- further inject momentum into the weather locations, modularization tural service center. reform of the country’s future oil Contact the writers at By Zhong Nan cially in 2020, all of our business in the construction of LNG plants In recent years, Panggezhuang and gas systems and mechanisms.” [email protected] [email protected] units, and partners from upstream is considered a standard practice has been stepping up efforts to build and downstream industries have for developing onshore facilities its own brand featuring small varie- -based Wison Off- overcome these difficulties and these days, said Feng Hao, a ties. shore and Marine Ltd, a subsidi- completed the project as sched- researcher at the National Devel- “Look at our Panggezhuang ary of privately owned Chinese uled,” said Zhang. opment and Reform Commission’s watermelons. They are only the size conglomerate Wison Group, Such modules can vary in size, Institute of Comprehensive Trans- of two fists. The skin is very thin. You shipped the first two of four giant typically ranging from a few tons portation in Beijing. can peel it and eat it upon twisting industrial modules for the Arctic up to several thousand tons, The old-fashioned approach to the melon off the vine. It’s juicy and LNG 2 project of Novatek, the depending on design and installa- construction of process plants was sweet,” said a livestreamer nick- largest independent natural gas tion constraints. to build the facilities entirely at the named Xiaojinge, as he displayed producer of Russia, on Thursday. To enable Novatek to exploit the main building site using a large the small fruit on his show. Zhang Shouyue, vice-president LNG reserves in Arctic areas, labor force. This is no longer desir- There has been a significant of WOM’s Zhoushan manufactur- WOM selected project materials able or feasible; so, a modular change in watermelon planting in ing base in Zhejiang province, said that match construction quality method has been adopted in many Panggezhuang since 2000, with the delivery of modules for the liq- standards for operating normally countries such as Iceland and larger numbers of small watermel- uefied natural gas project fills a gap in extreme cold weather, he said. Qatar, in a bid to reduce the work ons weighing from 1.5 kg to 2.5 kg, in the building of China’s marine Backed by a total investment of at the main construction site by rather than the traditional big ones engineering prowess, indicating $25.5 billion, the ALNG2 project using one or more prefabrication weighing from 6 kg to 8 kg, said the nation has joined the world’s comprises three LNG trains at 6.6 and preassembly sites in other Chen Zongguang, an official of the top club in the construction of high- million tons per annum each, locations. local agriculture service center. Workers check an oil facility in the Shunbei area of Tarim Basin end marine engineering products using gravity-based structure plat- For instance, China Internation- Now 90 percent of Panggezhu- in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. cai yang / xinhua and large and complex module con- forms. al Marine Containers (Group) Co, ang farmers grow small varieties. struction. The project is based on the a Shenzhen, Guangdong province- “Relatively small watermelons sell The modules dispatched from hydrocarbon resources of the based transportation equipment better, as they can be eaten up at Briefly Zhoushan will arrive at Russia’s Utrenneye field in the Gydan pen- manufacturer, has built many pre- one time, which helps maintain Arctic port city of Murmansk after insula of Russia’s Yamal-Nenets fabricated module-themed build- freshness while reducing waste,” 25 days. Autonomous District. More than ing and public utility projects Chen said. Shanghai’s EU 7-day, 2.2% reverse Among the world’s largest and half of its territory is located across the world to drive growth Last year, to mitigate the impact of garment imports up repos net 50b yuan heaviest industrial modules, beyond the Arctic Circle. and diversify its product catego- the COVID-19 epidemic, the town- WOM’s products are complete pre- With the project starting in ries. ship government took the initiative of Shanghai’s imports of garments The People’s Bank of China on assemblies of equipment, bulk December 2019, WOM’s work It supplied high-end modular connecting 10 watermelon coopera- and accessories from the Euro- Thursday conducted 50 billion yuan materials and components. scope has been engineering, pro- products to Brazil to help the coun- tives in Panggezhuang with an pean Union nearly doubled to ($7.72 billion) worth of seven-day, They were first fabricated at an curement, fabrication and com- try rebuild its research station in e-commerce sales platform, boosting 13.47 billion yuan ($2.07 billion) 2.2 percent reverse repos to main- off-site facility into a steel struc- missioning of modules in train one the Antarctic. It also provided pre- sales both online and offline. in the January to July period, tain reasonably ample liquidity in ture, which is now being shipped, with a total weight of 48,000 met- fabricated modules to the Ras Abu From January to December in Shanghai Customs data showed. the banking system. A reverse repo to be installed at the main con- ric tons. Aboud Stadium in Qatar toward 2020, professional cooperatives sold The figure was nearly double is a process in which the central struction site, according to infor- Established in 2004, WOM has building a greener venue for the more than 4.56 million kg of water- the export value. The city’s bank purchases securities from mation provided by the Beijing- grown a product portfolio that Qatar soccer World Cup 2022. Last melons online through e-commerce imports of leather and fur prod- commercial banks through bidding, based China International includes floating LNG facilities, year, the company completed a platforms such as JD and Taobao, ucts from the EU in the same with an agreement to sell them back Contractors Association. module fabrication and commis- steel structure modular hotel in registering a sales volume of nearly period were worth 11.2 billion in the future. “Even though the COVID-19 sioning, offshore platforms, Iceland for its client, the Courtyard 45.25 million yuan. yuan, up almost 95 percent pandemic caused a shortage of high-specification vessels and brand of premiere hotel chain Mar- year-on-year. Xinhua - China Daily workers and raw materials, espe- cranes. riott International. XINHUA

promotion channels, it’s easier for our business to be understood and Digital-rich Chongqing spurs SCO ties for common prosperity acknowledged by the SCO clients,” said Yu Yao, chairman of CDI. By Deng Rui and “Chongqing is a unique link that more than 63,000 vehicles in all, achieved an added value of 33.6 bil- Kuanysh Amantai, representative tan Yingzi in Chongqing connects entrepreneurs in the Asia- with over 10,000 of them reaching lion yuan, up 55 percent year-on- of Kazakh Invest in China, who took Pacific region, China’s inland prov- SCO-related markets such as Paki- year. part in the forum, said the agency Southwest China’s Chongqing inces and Eurasian countries. It stan and Russia, up 143 percent Chongqing is a The SCO TEMP, an existing plat- will set up shop in Chongqing to municipality, which boasts a strate- serves as a bridge in cooperation in year-on-year. unique link that form for cooperation in education promote investment cooperation gic location and industrial edge, is electronics, transportation logistics, On July 19, Saic-Iveco Hongyan, a and industry between Chongqing between foreign and Kazakh com- accelerating its economic and trade information technology and tour- heavy duty truck manufacturer connects and SCO markets, will help the city panies. cooperation with other member ism for the SCO and ASEAN coun- based in Chongqing, delivered 500 entrepreneurs in the to accelerate the construction of an “We hope to realize communica- states of the Shanghai Cooperation tries,” said SCO Secretary-General C6 LNG tractors to Russia, marking international exchange center for tion as well as possible cooperation Organization for “promoting com- Vladimir Norov at a sub-forum via a its entry into the Russian market. Asia-Pacific region, the central-western region of China, with Chongqing’s top enterprises mon prosperity by developing the video link. “With the substantial accelera- China’s inland which will further enhance the from different industrial levels. digital economy”. He also noted that among the 19 tion of infrastructure construction, provinces and international visibility and reputa- Moreover, the trust between enter- From Monday to Wednesday, the city groups in China, the Chengdu- SCO markets have become the key tion of the city. prises in Chongqing and Kazakh- China-Shanghai Cooperation Orga- Chongqing city group is not only the goals in our overseas planning,” said Eurasian countries.” CDIndustry, established in Liang- stan is sincere in developing and nization Forum on the Digital Econ- gateway for China to the West, but is Xiong Zhu, director of the interna- jiang New Area in 2016, promoted promoting mutual cooperation.” Vladimir Norov, omy, held in Chongqing, focused on also one of the strongest economic tional business department of Saic- SCO secretary-general the first cross-border industrial big At a sub-forum on Monday, Hu the theme. engines and BRI corridors. Iveco Hongyan, adding the data platform under the BRI frame- Kaiqiang, director general of the Founded in June 2001, the SCO is Cai Yunge, deputy mayor of company is also expanding to work. It not only assists the Chinese SCO TEMP, said the platform will a permanent intergovernmental Chongqing, said, “The biggest Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and is education in Chongqing by way of manufacturing enterprises to continue to innovate international international organization for polit- advantage lies in the close coopera- expected to complete the delivery of exchange visits, which led to travel match their industrial needs in BRI economic and trade cooperation, ical, economic and security coopera- tion between Chongqing and the the first batch of orders this year. more than 100,000 trips. economies effectively and accurate- adopt new concepts in the digital tion. It comprises eight member SCO countries.” Way back in 2011, Chongqing In 2020, the total import and ly, but also facilitates exports of Chi- industry and create an international states, including China, four observ- So far, some 40 companies from opened the first China-Europe export volume between Chongqing nese digital products and services. ecosystem in Liangjiang New Area. er states, and six dialogue partners, the SCO footprint established a freight train route, the Yuxinou and SCO markets reached 50.9 bil- In traditional sectors, CDI has Duan Chenggang, director of the with which Chongqing has forged presence in Chongqing, and more (Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe) rail- lion yuan ($7.86 billion), up 15 per- established cooperation with more Chongqing Liangjiang New Area close relations in recent years. than 30 Chongqing-based compa- way that runs through many of the cent year-on-year. than 70 enterprises in more than 10 Administrative Committee, pro- Chongqing was chosen as the nies expanded their operations, or SCO markets. The city’s booming digital econo- SCO countries, such as Hindustan posed a higher-level cooperation for forum venue because of its pivot- exported their products, services or At the end of 2020, Chongqing my, which accounts for a quarter of Zinc Ltd and ESL Steel Ltd in India, scientific and technological innova- like role in the China Western Devel- technologies to SCO countries, had established and developed the local economy and boasts 6,000 and Lucky Cement Ltd and ZAS tion, strengthening the digital econ- opment Strategy. The Belt and Road entailing a total investment of $675 friendly and cooperative relations firms in Liangjiang New Area, per- Agencies in Pakistan. omy and trade expansion. Initiative’s projects and transport million. with 30 regions of SCO markets. suaded the SCO to hold this year’s “By maintaining in-depth cooper- routes intersect with the For instance, in the first half of More than 1,000 international stu- forum in Chongqing. In the first half ation with the SCO TEMP and with Contact the writers at River Economic Belt in the city. this year, Chang’an Auto exported dents from SCO markets pursued of last year, digital industries the help of its business activities and [email protected]