Many global majors would do well to wind down Chinese investments, says WSJ
Shell - looking elsewhere for opportunities Image: Shell |
Shell, BP, Anadarko Petroleum and Noble Energy are amongst many of the global energy companies that are reducing their presence in the Chinese market. As energy prices fall and demand in the region slows, the return on investment for Chinese projects is reducing, causing many players to diversify their interests elsewhere.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC has recently offered up its stake in Tongyi Lubricants and has also shelved a multi-billion dollar joint venture with Chinese major PetroChina to export LNG to Australia.
Houston based Anadarko Petroleum and Noble Energy have also recently completed large deals to shed their Chinese assets, whilst exploration giant Hess Corp has backed away from a large-scale shale exploration deal with PetroChina. BP has written-off more than $100m in exploration costs from the south China seas.
Shell still remains committed to regional shale projects in areas such as the Sichuan basin, which is home to some of the world's largest techincally recoverable shale reserves.
Some speculate the absence of foreign expertise could lead to difficulties for China's leading energy companies.