Beijing Pushes Domestic Oil Production as Iranian Supply Dries Up

OilPrice.com · Julianne Geiger · 2026-10-26 23:00 UTC

China is urging its oil and gas giants to boost domestic production, as the Iran war exposes Beijing's dependence on imported energy.

China needs its biggest oil and gas producers to drill more, explore more, and build strategic supply bases as the Iran war forces Beijing to confront an uncomfortable reality: even the world's largest crude stockpile cannot replace a dependable supply of oil indefinitely.

China's National Energy Administration has called on PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC, and other domestic producers to expand production capacity, increase investment, and accelerate the development of national oil and gas supply bases.

The directive, issued following an October 21 meeting, calls for steady growth in crude production and rapid growth in natural gas output.

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