China’s Oil and Gas Industry in Energy Transitions: National and International Perspectives

The oil and gas industry is facing increasing demands to the implications of energy transitions for their operations and business models and to clarify the transition plans that they have chosen to purse. Oil and gas companies, located in different countries and funded by different entities, play varied roles in energy security and in energy transitions.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) conducted a dialogue to better understand the energy transition of Chinese national oil companies in the context of the 2060 carbon neutrality pledge, and to put this in the context of approaches taken by other national oil companies and integrated majors.

Following a series of structured conversations held separately with leading Chinese companies, this workshop aimed to allow for an informal dialogue on Chinese national oil company energy transition plans and to bring in international experience on how companies can contribute to net zero goals. These strategies were compared and contrasted with the strategies being pursued by other oil and gas companies in a background paper.

This workshop was hosted by the International Energy Agency and gathered leading international figures from across the oil and gas industry and other stakeholders to provide insights for a paper on this topic.

Findings will be integrated into IEA publications including World Energy Investment 2022 and the World Energy Outlook 2022.

The workshop was conducted in English and Chinese with direct translation, under the Chatham House Rule.