A two-track energy business

There’s a growing divide between big firms and smaller players in the oil and gas sector, and nowhere is that gap more evident than in access to finance

In May, China’s state-owned Sinopec joined a growing list of major oil and gas firms looking to take advantage of the easing credit markets and super-low interest rates to issue debt to fund capital expenditure plans. Sinopec sold $3 billion of debt in its first dollar-denominated bond sale in more than 15 years, attracting orders totalling more than $19bn, at interest rates that credit analysts termed fair. Moody's Investors Service, which rated the bonds Aa3, said the proceeds of the issuance would be used for general corporate purposes in regard to Sinopec's overseas businesses and to fund its overseas expansion plans. So far this y