CNPC’s Kunlun Lubricants Deliver Full Domestic Substitution Across Core Industrial and Emerging Sectors

According to Xinhua News Agency, an ether ester air compressor oil model KUC22 independently developed by China National Petroleum Corporation has completed an 8,000-hour operational verification trial on Ingersoll Rand centrifugal compressors at Yunnan Petrochemical Complex, marking full domestic substitution for critical lubricants deployed on this category of imported industrial equipment.

Over the past five years, the Kunlun lubricant portfolio under CNPC has secured core proprietary technologies covering four major categories and forty-six types of key additives. More than forty imported lubricant variants have been fully replaced by domestically formulated equivalents, filling multiple technical gaps within China’s advanced basic chemical materials sector.

The full range of Kunlun lubricants has achieved successive technical breakthroughs aligned with national core infrastructure and energy security priorities. Self-developed premium turbine oils have been deployed at the Guangdong Nuclear Power natural gas power generation base in Yubei District, Chongqing, a flagship energy security facility serving the Chengdu-Chongqing economic belt. The roll-out eliminates long-term reliance on foreign lubricants for heavy-duty high-temperature gas turbine units operated nationwide.

Hydrocarbon synthetic compressor oils from the Kunlun range have entered service at Xiangguosi Gas Storage belonging to Southwest Oil and Gas Field, supporting winter peak gas supply regulation for both the Sichuan-Chongqing regional grid and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration. Within urban rail transit systems, Kunlun KRS75W-90 gearbox lubricant runs on Jinan Metro rolling stock, delivering complete home-grown technical substitution for specialist transit gear lubricants.

The brand’s independent lubricant technologies are now extending into fast-expanding emerging industrial verticals. CNPC has secured a supply contract for lubricants used on power generation equipment manufactured by DJI Innovations, establishing domestic alternatives for vital mechanical components within the low-altitude economy sector.

Kunlun cycloid pinwheel grease has been fitted to automated production robots operated by Gansu Hailin Zhongke Industry Co., Ltd. Roughly 600 tonnes of proprietary liquid cooling fluid has been supplied to Phase Two of the National Supercomputing Center in Shenzhen, rolling out China’s self-developed liquid cooling solutions for high-performance computing infrastructure for the first time.

Progress within the new energy vehicle segment also continues apace. Long-life drive axle lubricants for commercial electric vehicles have been fitted to Geely Remote E51 light commercial electric models, cutting overall lubrication operating costs by 17 per cent. Charging gun cooling fluid has passed full bench cycle validation testing, with base oil feedstock sourced entirely from domestic supply chains to break long-standing market monopolies held by overseas lubricant brands.

CNPC maintains continuous investment in additive formulation, base oil refinement and application-specific lubricant research to expand domestic substitution coverage across heavy industry, digital infrastructure, clean energy and advanced transport. New product testing programmes will advance to match evolving technical specifications for next-generation industrial machinery, low-altitude aviation equipment, large-scale computing hardware and electric vehicle powertrain systems.