The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) announced on Thursday that it had overtaken US giant Chevron and France's Total to become the world's seventh largest oil firm in 2005.

 

The annual ranking was compiled by the US-based Petroleum Intelligence Weekly using six indices including oil and gas reserves, oil and gas output and sales volume.

 

The CNPC has been listed in the world's 10 largest oil firms for six straight years and stayed in ninth place in 2004. It is also the only Chinese oil firm in the top 10.

 

Sources with CNPC called the company's rising position a boost from growing oil and gas reserves abroad.

 

In August 2005, the largest oil producer in China was approved to acquire Canada-based PetroKazakhstan Inc. (PK) for US$4.18 billion. This constitutes the largest overseas takeover transaction ever undertaken by a Chinese company. It is an important step for China to diversify its overseas oil business geologically by diversifying away from traditional partners in the Middle East and Africa to Central Asia.

 

In the latest ranking, Saudi Arabia Oil Company remained the world's largest followed by Exxon Mobil headquartered in the United States. The National Iranian Oil Company replaced Petroleos de Venezuela SA to become the third biggest while British firm BP placed fifth.

 

Twenty-seven of the top 50 are state-owned oil firms whose aggregate crude oil and natural gas reserves account for 91 percent of those shared by the top 50.

 

The top 50 possess 85 percent of the world's crude oil reserves and produced 81 percent of the world's total. Their equivalent natural gas reserves took up 64 percent of the world's total with output at 68 percent.

 

The Petroleum Intelligence Weekly started the rankings 20 years ago.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2007)