China Petrochemical Corp., one of the world’s biggest oil refining companies, named Dai Houliang as general manager, filling a role left empty since his predecessor was removed the company and then expelled from the ruling Communist Party on corruption charges.
Dai, a vice-president of the company known as Sinopec Group, was appointed by the central government, according to a statement on its official Weibo account Monday. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission also named Dai a board director and deputy party secretary at the state-owned energy giant, it said.
The move is the latest in a leadership reshuffle that started last year at China’s three big oil producers as part of President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign. His predecessor, Wang Tianpu, was removed in April 2015 amid a corruption investigation and then ousted from the party in September, accused of abusing his position to solicit bribes and seek promotions and using company money for personal gains.
Dai was appointed vice-president in 1997 of Yangzi Petrochemical Corp., a subsidiary of Sinopec Group, and served as senior vice-president and chief financial officer of Hong Kong-listed unit China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. since 2006, according to his resume on the company’s website. The publicly traded company, also known as Sinopec, posted a three-fold increase in first-quarter profits as the drop in oil prices was outweighed by improved refining margins.
China National Petroleum Corp., the country’s biggest oil and gas producer, hasn’t announced filling the vacancy of its second-highest ranking post after former general manager and vice-chairman Liao Yongyuan was investigated and expelled from the party last year.