OREANDA-NEWS. January 23, 2015. China Petrochemical Corp., Asia’s biggest refiner, will invest over the next decade in clean energy, environmental protection and new materials, as it seeks to reduce its dependence on oil production and processing.

The company, known as Sinopec Group, is looking at making technological breakthroughs in these areas over five to ten years, and will create industrial parks, an investment fund and a research institute to accelerate innovation, according to comments on its website from Chairman Fu Chengyu. Fu didn’t provide financial details on the push into new businesses.

Areas up for investment include specialized materials used in 3-D printing, and energy derived from geothermal, biofuels, solar and wind, Fu told Sinopec’s annual conference in Beijing yesterday, according to the website. The state-run company will also establish an environmental protection unit, as it seeks to bolster China’s drive to cut pollution.

The focus on alternative businesses comes as Sinopec adjusts to a collapse in the oil market. The group had a “challenging year” in 2014 and has to learn how to better deal with lower crude prices in 2015, Fu said. That will include tighter controls on investment and higher requirements on returns for the year ahead.

New businesses could provide Sinopec with areas for growth for decades to come, according to Shi Yan, an analyst at UOB-Kay Hian Ltd. in Shanghai.

“It’s smart to explore opportunities in high-margin products in new materials and services businesses, as lower crude prices have choked almost every oil explorer in the world,” Shi said. “Ideally, Sinopec wants to turn itself into China’s DuPont,” she said, referring to the U.S. chemicals giant.