China’s private firms ramp up overseas M&A;
A PetroChina rig. CNPC and China’s other NOCs have been quiet on the M&A; front over the past two years. (CNPC)
China’s private sector spent more than its NOCs on overseas oil and gas assets for the first time in 2015, according to the country’s top oil company. Private buyers were undeterred by the crash in global energy prices, but their state-owned peers stayed on the sidelines.
Private Chinese investment hit a record $3 billion in 2015 after topping $1 billion for the first time in 2013, according to an annual report released by China National Petroleum Corp.’s (CNPC’s) Economics and Technology Research Institute last week.