The influence of the petroleum industry within the communist government varied significantly over time.
In the early years after establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the industry was under control of the Bureau of Petroleum, a division of the Ministry of Fuel.
In 1955, Ministry of the Fuel was promoted to the Ministry of the Petroleum Industry after merged with Ministry of Coal and Ministry of the Chemistry Industry.
Ministry of Petroleum Industry controlled the production of oil, and the refining was split among the ministry and a number of government bodies.
In 7 July 1998, the Ministry of the Petroleum Industry was dissolved and formed three state-owned companies to oversee and modernize its petroleum-related activities.
This reorganization created two regional firms –CNPC in the north and west, and Sinopec in the south. CNPC took over all onshore exploration and production of oil and gas. The company is directly under the State Council and is a ministry-level institution.
In June 1997, CNPC acquired a 60 percent share in Kazakhstan’s Aktyubinskmunaigaz Production Association, which controls three large oil fields in northwestern Kazakhstan with combined recoverable reserves of 1 bb.
China National Petroleum Corporation
