China’s State Oil Giants Booked $40 Billion Deals of Oil Imports
Nov. 13, 2018
China’s state-owned energy giants PetroChina Co. Ltd. and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) announced USD40 billion crude oil supply contracts.
PetroChina and its subsidiaries announced the signing of cooperation deals with 17 international companies with a total value of USD29.2 billion. The companies including Honeywell International Inc., Saudi Aramco, and Kuwait Petroleum Corp. meanwhile, Sinopec signed 17 new agreements worth USD11.3 billion.
China is now the world’s top crude oil importer, importing 8.4 million bpd. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, by 2030, China’s reliance on oil imports is predicted to rise from 65.6% in 2016 to roughly 80% in 2030.
The geopolitical tension has forced China to search for new crude oil suppliers. The U.S. sanctions on Iran forced China’s imports from Iran to slump to 580,000 bpd in November, even after the U.S. granted China a sanction waiver.
