The Missing Third Barrel: CNOOC's Hydrogen Strategy

Synergies between China's natural gas and hydrogen industries

Both SinoPec (中石化) and PetroChina (中石油) have advanced hydrogen refueling station (HRS) development projects, but in addition to these two “barrels of oil” there is also a third “barrel of oil” that also has plans for the hydrogen economy in China, the PRC National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) (中海油). Dr. Zhang Chao (张超), CNOOC Chief Engineer and R&D Director recently gave an interview about the company’s hitherto little-known hydrogen technology development plans. In his interview Zhang also shed light on how CNOOC plans to leverage a strong position in natural gas to jump-start plans for the hydrogen economy.

As a major oil company, CNOOC’s plans for hydrogen generation include both green, from electrolysis of water powered by renewables, and blue, from reformation of hydrocarbons with CCS equipment. According to Dr. Zhang, CNOOC has adopted a strategy of joint development of natural gas (NG) and hydrogen (H2) (天然气与氢能融合发展). Zhang says there is a need to study how new energy technologies can be incorporated into old energy systems. Zhang summarizes CNOOC’s strategy as pursuing new technologies, new models, and new businesses (新技术、新模式、新业态).