China's top energy firms to grow natural gas output despite spending cuts

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Seems suspiciously like propaganda.  China cutting their spending while magically growing their output of natural gas.  

Alchemy?  

Oilchemy?

Gaschemy?

 

China's top energy firms to grow gas output despite spending cuts

By Chen Aizhu and Muyu Xu

SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's top energy producers will grow their natural gas output this year by twice as much as in the previous oil rout even as they slash spending due to collapsing oil prices, company officials and analysts said.

The world's top energy consumer is forecast to expand its natural gas production by 5% or more in 2020 despite plans for deep spending cuts which will likely curb local oil production, they said.

That would be half the growth in 2019 but double the 2.2% growth seen in 2016 following a lengthy oil slump.

China's state-owned energy companies are joining others worldwide in slashing expenditure after this year's 56% drop in oil prices as a global pandemic ravaged economic activity.

As the country's oil and gas trio plan double digit spending cuts, they are prioritising gas development at home particularly as the market is relatively insulated from sharp oil moves due to government subsidies.  ...

"Under the capital expenditure cuts, companies are revising their gas strategy from an earlier aggressive push to a more practical approach, as gas production remains profitable," said Zhu Kunfeng, Beijing-based associate director at IHS Markit.

PetroChina, Sinopec Corp and CNOOC Ltd said in April they would reduce spending by roughly 20% to 30%, similar to the cuts they made in the last oil rout in 2015/2016.

Against this backdrop, China's main energy firms are focusing on developing gas and stablising oil at home, while decreasing overseas spending on costly projects such as oil sands and shale gas in North America.

The rise in gas output would also help offset some of the hefty losses these firms have incurred from paying higher prices for gas imports than current market value, prices set out in long-term contracts years ago.  ...

 

... "The message across PetroChina is to accelerate productions from new wells and enhancing recoveries at older wells," said the executive based in Changqing, who declined to be named due to company policy.  ...