Massive oil, gas trade produces mutual benefits for China, host countries

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) said its oil and gas output in countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative exceeded 80 million metric tons for the fourth consecutive year in 2022, with combined annual trade volume in the two energy resources reaching 250 million tons.

Cooperation in oil and gas sectors has not only improved China's capability to create energy security in the country, but also driven the economic growth of the countries where the resources are sourced. This, in turn, contributed to relatively stable global energy supplies in a tough international situation, besides boosting oil and gas trade in recent years, it said.

The company has come up with a complete industrial chain integrating exploration and development, pipeline operations, refining and chemical industries, engineering services and other businesses in the BRI landscape by the end of 2022.

It now operates 51 oil and gas cooperation projects in 19 other BRI countries, including key oil and gas producing countries and regions, such as Central Asia, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific, CNPC said.

The company's overseas operations have seen major breakthroughs, including oil and gas discoveries, commissioning of key projects and remarkable growth in overseas earnings. The oil and gas equity production has remained above 80 million tons for four consecutive years since 2019, accounting for about 83 percent of the company's overseas oil and gas equity production. Equity production refers to the ownership share of an oil project or even a particular well.

CNPC said the annual contract value of engineering services is about $6 billion, with that in 20 major markets, including the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, each exceeding $100 million.

CNPC further said natural gas delivered from Central Asia to China through the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline, a major project of the BRI, is expected to pick up as construction of the fourth pipeline is in full swing.

The company said it will accelerate the construction of the D line of the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline. With a designed gas transmission capacity of 30 billion cubic meters per year, the D line will pass through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and form a network with the existing A, B and C lines of the pipeline.

The A, B and C lines pass through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, with a designed gas transmission capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year, which will help ensure China's energy security.

CNPC data showed the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline supplied 42 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China last year. It transports around 100 million cubic meters of natural gas per day.

Since its opening in 2009 till the end of last year, it had delivered 423 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China, providing gas for more than 500 million residents in 27 provincial-level regions and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, it said.

An industry analyst said building an oil and gas community of common interests is of great significance to the economic prosperity and energy security of BRI countries and regions.

An important element of the BRI is to build a community of shared interests and future growth with the rest of the world, said Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.

"The BRI offers new opportunities for international cooperation in oil and gas and makes it possible for CNPC and its partners to explore new patterns and mechanisms for cross-border business," Lin said.

Overseas oil and gas investment, he said, has become integral to global trade as well as a forerunner and a major engine of the BRI. Chinese companies like CNPC will continue leveraging their expertise and experience in international operations in the years to come, contributing to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

CNPC said it has been participating in local economic and social activities across the BRI landscape by creating more than 100,000 jobs, funding public welfare programs like education and healthcare, and supporting businesses by purchasing their products and services.

The company said it would continue to push ahead with international collaborations under the BRI framework and strengthen the management of its global operations in the years to come.