CNPC, China’s parent oil company, continues to expand internationally, with the company confirming via its in-house newsletter today that its equity share in non-domestic oil production now tops 1 million barrels per day.
Its combined barrel of oil equivalent production of foreign oil and gas was 1.73 million in 2010.
The company produced a total of 107.54 million tonnes of crude oil in 2011, up 2.13 million tonnes from the year before. Total gas output rose 3 billion cubic metres (bcm) to 75.5 bcm in the same period.
CNPC’s expansion has partly resulted from its willingness to enter into risky projects on terms balked at by western oil companies. While this strategy had had its awkward moments – the company is currently suspended in Iran after failing to meet stringent production expectations – it has yielded rewards.
On 28 December the company signed an exploration deal in Afghanistan which is expected to yield the company $7 billion. The 87 million barrel Amu Darya basin development contract will require $400 million of upfront investment, with CNPC taking a 30% stake in oil revenue. The Afghan government’s Mines Minister Wahidullah Shahrani believes the field could be revealed to hold more oil after further appraisals are carried out. China is the largest foreign investor in Afghanistan.
The company jointly operates the 1.24 million barrels per day Rumaila field in south Iraq with BP, but has no equity stake in the field.
