China's NOCs Favor Gas, Green Energy Over M&A

As international oil companies seek buyers for oil and gas assets that they deem too carbon-intensive, cash-rich Chinese national oil companies (NOCs) could easily step up as buyers, if they were so inclined. But the Chinese NOCs are expected to remain on the sidelines for the most part as they too start grappling with the energy transition demands of their biggest shareholder, the Chinese government. In the industry's last big wave of acquisitions and divestments, between 2009 and 2013, Chinese NOCs purchased more than $100 billion worth of upstream assets, Energy Intelligence estimates. But times have changed. "Those days are gone. Chinese NOCs used to do basic due diligence, and their speed was phenomenal. They are now relatively more diligent and practical," EY's Asia-Pacific oil and gas leader Sanjeev Gupta told Energy Intelligence. Beijing's Priorities