China’s corruption purge targets the energy sector

Beijing’s renewed targeting of NOC management could threaten investment

China is ramping up a new crackdown on corruption within its sprawling NOCs, which together produced 95% of the country’s oil and gas last year. But the sweeping probes risk spooking industry leaders and stifling activity at a time when Beijing is keeping up the pressure on its state-controlled firms to boost production to ensure energy security. Since January, at least a dozen current and former senior officials in CNPC, Sinopec and CNOOC have come under investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the feared top anti-corruption watchdog of the Communist Party. The accelerating pace of detentions has put the Chinese oil and gas sector on notice for more turmoil