On
May 16, the Belt and Road Roundtable for Oil and Gas Cooperation was
held at CNPC headquarters in Beijing. More than 20 officials and
executives from the National Energy Administration, the International
Energy Agency, national oil companies of resource countries, and
renowned Chinese oil and gas enterprises and financial institutions
compared notes on the building of a new model and new mechanism of Belt
and Road oil and gas cooperation, shared visions for deepening Belt and
Road oil and gas cooperation, and reached a broad consensus.
In his keynote speech,
CNPC Chairman Wang Yilin pointed out that deepening international oil
and gas cooperation is an important part of the Belt and Road
Initiative. In the face of new historical opportunities, CNPC is looking
forward to working more closely with domestic and foreign counterparts
and partners to further expand cooperation in the oil and gas sector,
jointly respond to major changes in the energy industry, and build an
open, win-win and mutually beneficial community of shared interests for
oil and gas cooperation, so as to provide the world with more
high-quality, clean energy and make greater contributions to promoting
the sustainable and healthy development of human society.
Wang Yilin put forward five suggestions:
First, to promote and
achieve policy coordination and strengthen the integration of policies,
standards and mechanisms for oil and gas cooperation under the Belt and
Road Initiative. Efforts should be made to establish mechanisms for
regular exchanges and communication among partners within the region,
strengthen discussions on oil and gas cooperation policies and related
fiscal and taxation policies as well as standards for oilfield services
and equipment manufacturing, and achieve collaborative integration of
major policies, key technologies and industrial standards. The legal
basis for trade and investment cooperation should be improved, the
conclusion of bilateral and multilateral investment protection
agreements should be facilitated, the customs clearance process should
be simplified, personnel exchanges should be encouraged, and investment
and trade liberalization and facilitation promoted, so as to create a
good environment for oil and gas cooperation.
Second, to promote and
achieve facilities connectivity and establish the oil and gas
connectivity system for the region of Belt and Road. Further efforts
should be made to maintain the safe, efficient and smooth operation of
transnational oil and gas pipelines such as Central Asia-China Oil and
Gas Pipelines, Russia-China Oil and Gas Pipelines and Myanmar-China Oil
and Gas Pipelines and jointly develop potential exploration blocks and
mature oil and gas projects along the pipelines and in surrounding
areas. We should promote and achieve rapid development of the natural
gas industry, build a gas connectivity system for the region and bring
benefits to countries along the Belt and Road route.
Third, to promote and
achieve unimpeded trade and establish open and inclusive trading
platforms and capacity cooperation platforms. We should keep expanding
the size of oil and gas trade, work together to promote and improve the
building of the Asian oil and gas trading center, and enhance the
discourse power of the region in the global oil and gas market. We
should optimize and improve the pricing and settlement mechanism for oil
and gas trade between China and Russia, between China and Central Asia,
and between China and Myanmar, to ensure the balance of interests among
relevant parties. Concerted efforts should be made to the building of
national petrochemical industrial parks in the Middle East, Southeast
Asia, Central Asia and South Asia, so as to expand the terminal consumer
markets by leveraging their respective advantages. Through joint
venture and cooperation, oilfield services should be made more
international and professional, a number of oil equipment manufacturing
bases should be built and service support networks improved.
Fourth, to promote and
achieve financial integration and accelerate the integration of energy
and finance. An investment mechanism for large oil and gas cooperation
projects through which investors in different countries can participate
in should be built and multilateral financial support platforms for oil
and gas cooperation projects along the Belt and Road route established.
In addition, efforts should be made to deepen cooperation with domestic
and foreign financial institutions and various types of capital, and
promote pragmatic and effective cooperation among countries within the
region in terms of prevention major risks, monetary price stability,
investment and financing platforms and credit rating.
Fifth, to promote and
achieve people-to-people bonds and promote localization and sustainable
development of oil and gas cooperation along the Belt and Road route. We
should jointly focus on the training of local personnel within the
region, keep increasing the proportion of local employees, and promote
local employment. Personnel exchanges and cultural exchanges between
partners should be strengthened. Concerted efforts should be made to
promote the implementation of the “plan for training of backbone talents
for projects”. We should also establish special funds for social
welfare undertakings, actively fulfill social responsibilities, and
bring benefits to local communities and the people.
Meanwhile, we should
promote information sharing in terms of security and anti-terrorism,
market trends, and public opinion, build effective regional risk control
systems, especially promote the building of relevant bilateral and
multilateral cooperation mechanisms for pipeline security protection and
emergency coordination, and guarantee the long-term safe and stable
operation of oil and gas cooperation projects and cross-border oil and
gas pipelines.
Subsequently, the
participants had an in-depth exchange of views on a broad range of
issues and reached an extensive consensus. Alexey Miller, Chairman of
Gazprom Management Committee, expressed the willingness of Gazprom to
make its own contributions to the achievement of China’s goal for gas
market development, believing natural gas as the basis for the future
energy system and the natural gas pipeline as a symbol of future
strategic cooperation and development. Sauat Mynbayev, Chairman of
KazMunaiGas, pointed out that considering the great practical
significance of the integration of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and
Kazakhstan’s “Pathway to the Future” economic policy, it is hoped that
oil and gas cooperation between China and Kazakhstan will be constantly
expanded within the framework of the Belt and Road. Alisher Sultanov,
Chairman of Uzbekneftegaz, called for the construction of transnational
oil and gas trunks to meet energy demand along the pipelines and
enhanced oil and gas cooperation for the benefit of the local people.
In his concluding
remarks, CNPC President Zhang Jianhua, said that the participants had
seen eye to eye on “responsibility, compliance, efficiency, standards,
risks and cooperation”. It is believed that as long as countries firmly
establish the concept of “mutual benefit and common development” and the
basic principle of “building the Belt and Road through consultation to
meet the interests of all”, substantial achievements will be made in oil
and gas cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative in the future.