State-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, also known as Sinopec, said it will further develop geothermal energy in Xiongan New Area, Hebei province, as it seeks to make the smog-ridden region smokeless.

Sinopec Star Petroleum Ltd, Sinopec's geothermal energy development arm, said it would increase the geothermal and other new-energy heating area in Xiongan by 10 million square meters to 16 million sq m in 2017.

In 2016, by replacing coal with geothermal energy, the geothermal heating area in Xiongxian county, part of Xiongan New Area, reached 4.5 million sq m, making it the first region to achieve its smokeless city plan.