Huang Wensheng, Vice President of Sinopec: Energy Internet Promotes Energy Revolution

China Energy Storage Network: Energy Internet is an important support for promoting energy revolution

——Interview with Huang Wensheng, Vice President of Sinopec

Zhu Yi, reporter of China Electric Power News and China Electric Power News Network

Interpretation of "Internet +" smart energy ③

China Electric Power News: Recently, the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of "Internet +" Smart Energy" was officially released, which pointed out the direction for the development of the industry in the next 10 years. It can be said to be the first ten-year plan for the energy Internet. What do you think of the background and timing of the release of this opinion?

Huang Wensheng: General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed to achieve the "two centenary" goals and the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and proposed to vigorously promote the construction of ecological civilization, build a beautiful China, and realize the requirements of the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. By 2050, to achieve the goal of per capita GDP reaching the level of moderately developed countries, it means that my country's total economic output will increase by 5 to 6 times compared with the current level in the next 40 years. Energy is the lifeblood of the economy. If the current energy development mode is continued, it will be difficult to support the proven and expected expansion of domestic fossil energy resources, plus the possible import of energy. Only through the optimization and complementarity of multiple energy sources, especially the effective supply of new energy, and the exploration and promotion of "Internet +" smart energy, can more efficient and sustainable energy development and utilization be achieved, and it is possible to break the traditional path of energy resource constraints. This is also the meaning of the "building a modern energy system" proposed in the "13th Five-Year Plan" of the country.

I am fortunate to be invited to participate in the discussion and revision of the Guiding Opinions as an expert representative in the field of petrochemicals. In my opinion, the Guiding Opinions focuses on the overall situation and long-term development needs of the energy industry, takes reform and innovation as the core, takes "Internet +" as the means, takes intelligence as the basis, focuses on adapting to green and low-carbon development, promotes the deep integration of information and energy, promotes the development of new technologies, new models and new formats of energy Internet, supports and leads the energy revolution, and is cutting-edge in concept, pragmatic in goals, clear in context and measures, and is released at the right time.

China Electric Power News: In your opinion, what is the biggest innovative highlight of this opinion?

Huang Wensheng: For the traditional energy industry, the concept of "Internet +" smart energy is itself a major innovation. "Internet +" smart energy, or energy Internet, aims to optimize complementary energy supply, improve the efficiency of production, service and consumption, and thus improve the overall energy efficiency of the whole society. In essence, it is an important breakthrough in the strategic transformation and upgrading of traditional basic industries to high-end structures. It will likely form a new economic growth point and become an important strategic support for promoting the revolution in my country's energy production and consumption.

China Electric Power News: Do you think it is difficult to achieve the two-stage goals proposed in the opinion? What are the biggest difficulties and obstacles?

Huang Wensheng: Only after sufficient basic research and planning pilot projects can a perfect top-level design be proposed. The Guiding Opinions put forward two-stage goals and set aside three years as a pilot demonstration trial period, which fully reflects the spirit of seeking truth from facts and being strict and practical. At the same time, I believe that this also reflects that the Guiding Opinions focus on exploring solutions from the institutional level and allowing the market to play a full role. I believe that under the joint effect of the energy industry policy dividends and the "Internet +" information technology innovation dividends, traditional fossil energy companies represented by Sinopec will successfully "break through the wall" and transform and upgrade, and there will also be a large number of new forms, low-cost, high-tech, high-return, and energy field competitive partners that span production, services and consumption will rise together to form China's future energy supply, service and consumption system.

Personally, I believe that the biggest obstacle lies in how to break down regulatory barriers and establish a fair and open market environment; the biggest difficulty lies in how to ensure that this complex, open, and huge system composed of cross-border energy and information technology can operate safely and stably.

China Electric Power News: The opinion proposes "multi-energy coordination", and clarifies that the intelligentization of coal, oil and gas pipelines to the integration of cold, heat and electricity are all included in the development plan of the energy Internet industry, not just limited to electricity, which has drawn clear industrial boundaries for the energy Internet. For the oil industry, does it mean that there is the possibility of cross-border development, thus having a broader development space?

Huang Wensheng: Innovation is the first driving force for the development of enterprises, and it is also the soul that has enabled the petroleum and petrochemical industry to develop and grow to this day. Sinopec's production and operation are not limited to oil and gas energy. In addition to operating energy businesses such as oil, gas, and refined oil, it also has a variety of cross-border businesses and resources such as coal, electricity, and geothermal energy, including network resources and talent resources. In the future, as a large-scale energy and chemical enterprise, we will explore and work with various power grids and information technology companies under the guidance of new development concepts to break the limitations of "fragmentation" thinking and jointly promote innovative cooperation in "Internet +" smart energy.

China Electric Power News: From the opinions, we can see that to innovate the energy system with "Internet +" smart energy, we must not only dig deep at the technical level, but also fully learn from the successful experience of Internet development in terms of commercial operation, industrial development and policy connection. What do you think about this? Have you started to make some attempts in commercial operation?

Huang Wensheng: In recent years, Sinopec has actively implemented the requirements of national strategies such as "Made in China 2025" and "Internet +", and has made every effort to promote the integrated development of "intelligent manufacturing" and "Internet +" of the company, including building a unified, integrated and shared information platform and system for Sinopec, and actively building a new model of digital, automated and intelligent production and operation management. In 2015, 14 companies under the company were awarded "National Petrochemical Industry Two-Industry Integration Innovation Demonstration Enterprise".

This year, we will also improve the smart oilfield pilot construction plan and carry out the construction of smart oilfield demonstration areas; improve and upgrade the intelligent pipeline system, carry out in-depth applications such as intelligent line patrol management and big data analysis; further promote the construction of smart factories; and actively promote the construction of new generation e-commerce, large logistics and other systems. In terms of non-oil business, we have also begun to explore cooperation with Tencent and Alibaba to create a future-oriented smart production, operation and trade system.

China Electric Power News: From the opinions, we can see that the energy internet focuses on the consistency of industrial development and system design. In this regard, what suggestions do you have for the subsequent system design and detailed implementation of measures?

Huang Wensheng: It is recommended to organize all stakeholders related to production, services and sales to gather on an open and unified communication platform, and after sufficient research and discussion, form effective proposals, strive to include them in the "13th Five-Year Plan" of the national energy industry, and continue to refine and implement them.

China Electric Power News: Once the policy is issued, the industry sentiment will be further ignited. In your opinion, how should related companies find their own position in the future energy Internet system?

Huang Wensheng: According to the "Guiding Opinions", it is recommended that in the first stage, we should give full play to the leading role of innovation in reform and development, give full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, combine our respective advantages, and continuously explore new theories, new technologies, new products, new models, new organizations, and new business forms of "Internet +" smart energy, and strive to create value and achieve breakthroughs.