Energy & Science
Xi Ordered China’s Oil Industry to Drill, Then the Crash Came
- Country’s leader wants output boost to enhance energy security
- China’s oil giants face hit to earnings due to low crude price
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Oil’s historic price crash is presenting an uncomfortable dilemma to China’s energy majors: follow market signals to cut drilling, or heed President Xi Jinping’s orders to boost output.
While China’s main influence on global oil is as the world’s largest importer, it also produces 3.8 million barrels a day, more crude than all but two of OPEC’s individual members. The last time crude slumped this low, in 2016, China’s response was to cut spending at old and expensive fields, and output slumped.