Thursday 17 February 2011

New light shed on China’s oil companies’ actions

New light shed on China’s oil companies’ actions

China's oil companies are more independent than previously thought, according to a new International Energy Association report.

The new research aims to challenge the widely held presumption that Chinese oil companies operate under the instructions of the Chinese government.

Recent investment by these companies has been influenced by the market says Julie Jiang, who co-wrote the report:

"These are far from puppet companies operating under control of the Chinese government, as many have assumed. Their investments in recent years have been driven by a strong commercial interest, not the whim of the state."

The IEA report further suggests that the companies' investments have boosted global supplies of oil and gas, instead of blocking supplies of oil for other importing countries.

In recent years, some of China's national oil companies have become world players in the oil industry, with the largest - the China National Petroleum Corporation - now the fifth largest oil company in the world.

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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