Chinese oil giant CNPC seen buying more overseas energy assets

China National Petroleum Corp has already spent more money this year on energy assets than any other global producer. Oil and gas fields controlled by Exxon Mobil and Russia's Rosneft may be next on the list.

CNPC, the mainland's largest oil producer, has made more than US$9 billion of purchases this year - and has considered a further US$4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter - as part of a plan to double overseas output by 2015.

Spending was likely to accelerate under Zhou Jiping, who was named chairman in April and has more than a decade of experience in international operations, CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets said.

CNPC is ramping up deals to make up for lost ground after Sinopec and CNOOC, two other state-owned energy companies, outspent the producer by about US$50 billion on overseas transactions in the past five years.

CNPC's success with mature fields made an Exxon asset in Iraq a target, Sanford C Bernstein said, while a supply agreement with Rosneft may lead to deals with the state-controlled Russian producer, according to UOB Kay Hian.

"CNPC's skill set makes it a good fit for many developed onshore oilfields in central Asia, the Middle East and South America," said Neil Beveridge, an oil and gas analyst at Bernstein. "CNPC's state-owned background is more of a bonus rather than a burden when it seeks acquisitions in those regions."

At its Daqing field, discovered in Heilongjiang province in 1959, CNPC had gained "world class" experience at extending the life of oilfields, Beveridge said.