CNPC to consolidate with complex based at Jafza

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the Asian country’s largest oil and gas company, plans to consolidate its various subsidiaries in Dubai into a large new office and warehouse complex at Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza).

The move follows CNPC’s winning bid for an 8 per cent stake in Abu Dhabi’s main onshore oil concession, Adco, which has a 40-year life and significantly raises the Chinese company’s profile in the UAE.

Zhu Junfeng, CNPC’s chief executive for the Middle East, said on Tuesday the new Jafza complex will bring together staff and operations from 16 CNPC subsidiaries, which include oil services unit China Petroleum Engineering and its more than 400 Dubai-based employees, as well as Chinaoil, a joint venture with Sinochem Group that has become a major force in physical and derivative trading in the region. Its main subsidiary is the publicly-listed PetroChina.

The new headquarters covers a 55,000 square metres space and includes a 10,000 sq metres multi-storey office and warehouse facility for storage, maintenance and repair of oil and gas equipment, Jafza said in a statement. CNPC’s presence in the region includes major developments in Iraq, where Mr Zhu was based from 2009 until his elevation to Middle East head in 2015. His projects included the Halfaya oilfield in southern Iraq, development of which has moved much slower than originally planned but is now set to double production from 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 400,000 bpd by next year under an agreement that will delay CNPC payments until the oil revenue from that increase comes onstream.

CNPC agreed in February to pay Dh6.5 billion for its stake in Adco, which is on track to boost output to 1.8 million bpd by next year from 1.6 million bpd in 2015. China’s CEFC China Energy Company, a private conglomerate, also bought 4 per cent of Adco, with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s chief Sultan Al Jaber saying that he wanted new innovative partnerships that would bring new technology and/or open up new markets.

China has been the world’s fastest growing consumer of oil and oil products for over a decade and overtook the United States last year as the world’s largest oil importer at more than 8 million bpd.

China’s oil subsidiaries have been increasingly active in South America and Africa as well as the Middle East in their quest for oil partnerships.

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