Breakingviews - China’s oil and gas titans heed the call to spend - Reuters

Breakingviews - China’s oil and gas titans heed the call to spend - Reuters:

China’s oil and gas titans are heeding the call to spend. President Xi Jinping called for a boost to energy security, and first-half figures suggest state giants listened: $81 billion Sinopec, for one, nearly doubled capital expenditure. That contrasts with caution seen abroad. U.S. sanctions only add urgency to national service.

Energy is a perennial concern among the country’s security hawks, and last year Xi put it firmly back on the agenda. Then, the state-owned majors pledged to explore more actively for new resources at home. They forecast spending this year would reach 517 billion yuan ($72 billion), nearly a fifth higher than in 2018.

Numbers for the first six months of 2019 suggest they are on track. Sinopec reported on Sunday that capex in the first half surged to 43 billion yuan, compared to just 24 billion yuan in the same period last year, while national offshore producer CNOOC reported that its own figure rose 60% year-on-year.