CNPC aims to produce 50M MT oil from overseas fields by 2010
By Xu Yihe
SINGAPORE, Nov. 06, 2003 (Dow Jones) — China National Petroleum Corp., China’s largest oil and gas company, is targeting to produce 50 million metric tons of crude oil from its overseas oil fields by 2010, state media reported Thursday.
This compares with CNPC’s overseas crude production of 21.3 million tons last year, reported Xinhua News Agency.
Of CNPC’s total overseas crude production anticipated by 2010, about 26 million tons will comprise CNPC’s equity oil based on production sharing contracts, a CNPC official said.
According to the official, the bulk of CNPC’s overseas production will be from Sudan , Kazakhstan, Venezuela and Indonesia.
Xinhua’s report said by 2005, CNPC plans to produce 35 million tons of crude from its overseas fields, including 20 million tons from Sudan , 7 million tons from Kazakhstan and 2.5 million tons from Indonesia.
CNPC’s equity oil entitled to it based on production sharing contracts by 2005 is estimated at 18 million tons, the report said.
But China-based industry analysts doubt if CNPC’s overseas production target could be met by 2010.
“CNPC has been producing oil from outside China for 10 years. Last year, its take-home oil was only about 10 million tons,” said an analyst with an American consulting firm based in Beijing.
CNPC’s biggest overseas upstream stake is in Sudan , where it owns or partly owns three fields, with crude production last year reaching 12.7 million tons. Of the three fields, only one is under production, while the other two are being explored.
In Kazakhstan, CNPC owns a 86% stake in CNPC-Aktyubin Oil/Gas Co., in addition to licenses to develop three other fields. In 2002, CNPC produced 4.4 million tons of crude in Kazakhstan, according to Xinhua.
According to a recent forecast by the International Energy Agency, China’s crude oil demand by 2010 is expected to increase by 40% from last year to 350 million tons.
The IEA says China’s domestic crude production by 2010 will be around 200 million tons. The deficit of 150 million tons will be filled by imports or crude produced from overseas fields by companies like CNPC.