China Opens Up to Oil Majors at the Wrong Time
There was a time foreign energy companies would have jumped at the chance. Now they’re awash with supply.
China’s domestic oil production has fallen about 10% since peaking five years ago.
Photographer: Trevor SnappBroad new horizons in key markets are opening for the world’s energy companies. Don’t expect to see a land rush any time soon.
China will allow all large domestic and foreign companies to apply for oil and gas exploration licenses that were previously only open to state-owned enterprises, the country’s resources ministry said at a briefing Thursday. In India, regulators will also let private and international companies bid for a group of coal blocks it’s putting up for auction starting this month, the country’s coal and mines minister Pralhad Joshi said this week, chipping away at a near-monopoly enjoyed by state-controlled Coal India Ltd.