Energy independence is an important precondition for any country which allows for relatively unbound foreign and economic policies. China’s growing reliance on imports concerning fossil fuels is a major headache for Beijing. Therefore, increasing domestic production is high on the agenda. Despite some successes in exploration and production activities, import reliance is expected to rise over the next couple of years. Beijing has instructed its three domestic energy champions PetroChina, CNOOC, and Sinopec, to increase spending on domestic resources. In the next five years, these companies have vowed to invest 517 billion yuan ($77 billion), which is a growth of 18 percent year-on-year. These investments have already achieved reversing falling domestic oil production. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the production of petroleum and other liquids in China has increased to 4.9 million barrels per day (mbpd). Despite the increase, foreign oil dependency has reached 70 percent […]