Energy security is always on the agenda in China. But it has been the country’s top concern since the war in Ukraine disrupted global markets, with China’s President Xi Jinping calling for the country to take responsibility for its own “rice bowl of energy”.

Energy companies appear to have heeded the call to invest more in domestic exploration and production. According to China’s National Energy Administration, investment in major energy projects last year hit 2 trillion yuan ($294 billion).

In 2022, for the first time in seven years, domestic crude production topped the 200 million tonne (1.47