Chinese firm overtakes Exxon as the world’s largest oil producer

A big shift is happening in Big Oil: An American giant now ranks behind a Chinese upstart. Exxon Mobil is no longer the world’s biggest publicly traded producer of oil. For the first time, that distinction belongs to a 13-year-old Chinese company called PetroChina. The Beijing company was created by the Chinese government to secure more oil for that nation’s booming economy. PetroChina announced today that it pumped 2.4 million barrels a day last year—surpassing Exxon by 100,000. The company has grown rapidly over the last decade by squeezing more from China’s aging oil fields and outspending Western companies to acquire more petroleum reserves in places like Canada, Iraq and Qatar. It’s motivated by a need to lock up as much oil as possible. The company’s output increased 3.3% in 2011. Exxon’s fell 5%, and its oil production also fell behind Rosneft, a Russian energy company. Every major oil company has aggressively pursued new finds to replace their current wells. But analysts say Western oil firms like Exxon have been more conservative than the Chinese, mindful of their bottom line and investor returns. With oil prices up 19% in 2011, they still made money without increasing production. PetroChina has a different mission: The Chinese government owns 86% of its stock, and the nation uses nearly every drop of oil PetroChina pumps. Its appetite for gasoline and other petroleum products is projected to double between 2010 and 2035. Read the full story from The Associated Press for more on the Chinese company’s rise and the fear it’s striking in some Western competitors here.