Overseas investments by China's national oil companies in 2010 look as if they will outpace by far the $18.2 billion spent in 2009, with more than half that amount already committed by April, according to an International Energy Agency study issued Thursday.
Overseas investments by China's national oil companies in 2010 look as
if they will outpace by far the $18.2 billion spent in 2009, with more than
half that amount already committed by April, according to an International
Energy Agency study issued Thursday.
From January 2009 to April 2010 alone, the three majors--China National
Petroleum Corp., China Petrochemical Corp., or Sinopec, and China National
Offshore Oil Corp.--spent around $29 billion worldwide to acquire oil and gas
assets, the IEA said in its latest monthly oil markets report.
In addition to these direct investments, CNPC and Sinopec were involved in 11
loan-for-oil deals with eight countries worth $77 billion, and the companies
entered contracts committing them to invest at least $18 billion in future
exploration and development, mostly in Iraq and Iran, it noted.
China
is
now generating 40% of incremental global oil demand of 1.7 million barrels a
day expected in 2010, and it will account for nearly 45% of 2010-15 growth.
"
China
's
domestic oil production base faces the challenge of large mature assets, and
with demand set to continue rising rapidly,
China
will
remain reliant on the international oil market to meet incremental oil
needs."
Earlier Thursday,
China
's
General Administration of Customs said oil imports in the first five months of
this year were 29% higher than year-earlier levels, at an average of 4.64
million barrels a day.
China
's oil
companies last year accounted for 13% of total global oil and gas acquisitions
in 2009.
The IEA data didn't include a number of more recent deals, such as CNPC's
mid-May buy of a 35% stake in a unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) in
Syria
and
Sinochem Group's $3 billion purchase of a 40% stake in Statoil ASA's (STO)
Brazilian offshore Peregrino oilfield.
Chinese oil majors expanded their overseas oil equity share to 1.5 million
barrels a day in the first quarter of 2010, from 1.1 million barrels a day of
crude oil output in 2009, the energy watchdog said.
While those volumes were relatively limited, concerns exist that this activity
is effectively "removing" oil from the market, it said.
"But the fungible nature of markets and the apparently market-oriented
thinking behind the decisions suggest this is not the case."
China
's
aggressive expansion overseas has been mirrored by growth in its domestic
petrochemicals industry.
In the second half of 2009, it added three naphtha crackers totaling almost 2.3
million tons a year of capacity, and in 2010, three more--each with a capacity
of 1 million tons a year--are due to come online, the IEA said.
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