Oil & Gas Reform Focuses on Broad Industry Chain Relaxation Access

Experts suggest that at the same time as combining and optimizing large state-owned oil companies, in order to form an effective competitive market structure, the combined integrated ultra-large international oil companies should abandon the midstream and downstream businesses, increase the intensity of mixed reform, and form a market competition mechanism. Company structure.

The overall plan for oil and gas reform will be introduced this year, and the access will be relaxed in all aspects of the entire industry chain.

On May 18, the State Council approved the reform priorities listed in the “Opinions on the Key Work of Deepening Economic System Reform in 2015” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”) of the National Development and Reform Commission, saying that “the study put forward the overall plan for oil and natural gas system reform, Relax access to all aspects of the industry chain."

Oil and gas reform is the focus of recent years. The 2014 Energy Work Conference put forward “Steady progress in oil and gas reforms.” The 2015 Energy Work Conference proposed changes to “actively promote the reform of the oil and natural gas system, formulate overall plans, promote the implementation of reform pilots, and improve the orderly, fair and reasonable market standards. Into the mechanism."

The reference to the energy work conference in 2015 is similar to the formulation of the "Opinions." The key reform work in 2014 was still relatively conservative. “We must follow the laws of the market economy and the laws of technology and economy to promote the reform of oil and gas industries.”

In mid-2014, the Central Financial Leadership Group meeting proposed energy. Afterwards, many reforms have significantly accelerated their progress. The reform of the power system was also formed at the end of last year and was formally introduced this year. However, the reform of oil and gas appears to be more complicated.

The oil and gas reforms have been brewing for many years. In 2014, the relevant departments had made plans to open upstream, but in the end, no policies were introduced. The oil and gas reform plan was led by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Energy Bureau. It involved different ministries and commissions and was conducting research.

According to the general process of the reform plan, the plan will be submitted to the State Council for discussion, and then published and announced after the Central Deep-revision Group.

Up to now, only three major oil companies have promoted various pilot reforms in the oil and gas sector, and no government-level plans and reforms have been piloted. Xinjiang, which is most likely to promote upstream open pilots, is mainly operating in PetroChina, and the overall policy framework for upstream openness is incomplete.

The above-mentioned experts said that one of the ideas of the previous study was to achieve the goal of “complete legal system, legal management, multiple main bodies, market-led, and effective supervision” through the oil and natural gas system.

Specifically, we made efforts in the areas of energy legal system construction, energy management system reform, multi-tiered market system construction, price reform, and regulatory reform. We started from the midstream and downstream sectors and established mid- and long-term planning goals, piloting first, and proceeding steadily. Steps to achieve strategic goals.

With regard to the reform of state-owned oil companies that are more concerned with the outside world, the above-mentioned sources analyzed that the oil industry is now mainly self-regulating with three barrels of oil. In the future, it should establish a regulatory body at the national level and conduct self-regulatory supervision at the industry level so that more entities can be supervised and effective under the law. On the basis of supervision, effective entry into the oil and gas industry. In addition, in terms of prices, the middle is controlled and the two ends are released, forming a market-set pricing mechanism.

He personally suggested that the merger, integration, and optimization of large state-owned oil companies is a way to build two or three large-scale integrated international oil and gas companies with integrated upstream, middle, and downstream industries, and form a market structure with effective competition in the entire industry chain. While consolidating, optimizing, and integrating large state-owned oil companies, in order to form an effective competitive market structure, the merged integrated ultra-large international oil companies should abandon their midstream and downstream operations, increase their mix and reform efforts, and form a corporate structure with market competition mechanisms.

As for the pipeline network business in the industrial chain, he personally believes that the complete separation of the pipeline transportation business and the sales business through reforms will allow more market players to enter the middle and lower reaches.

At present, there are mainly three national oil companies, PetroChina, Sinopec, and CNOOC. Although the business focus is different, all three are considered upstream and downstream integrated oil companies.

The methods and ways of divesting the pipeline business have previously been reported by the media to strip the state-owned oil company's pipeline business and integrate it into a national pipeline network company.

According to the above-mentioned experts, the one-size-fits-all stripping pipeline business has no operability and should be dealt with separately. For example, the pipeline network will not be classified and consolidated into one company. It may be that the peer-to-peer pipeline network still operates on three barrels of oil. Some of the pipeline networks may also be held by three barrels of oil and introduce foreign investors, but they become independent legal entities.