CNOOC, China's state-owned oil and gas company, is considering divesting from interests in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom due to worries regarding sanctions imposed in reaction to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to a Reuters report.
China-Western relations have already been compromised by economic and human rights concerns and tensions have increased in the aftermath of the Ukrainian invasion, something China has failed to condemn.
The U.S. has recently warned China that it may face repercussions if it has assisted Russia in evading Western sanctions.
Financial penalties limiting Russia's access to foreign money and complicating international payment processing have been included in these sanctions.
"We cannot predict if the company or its affiliates and partners will be affected by U.S. sanctions in the future, if policies change," CNOOC said.
CNOOC was initially blacklisted by the U.S. in 2020 when the Trump administration included it on a list of Chinese military-related enterprises.
In 2021, the firm was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
"Assets like Gulf of Mexico deepwater are technologically challenging and CNOOC really needed to work with partners to learn, but company executives were not even allowed to visit the U.S. offices," a Reuters' source stated. "It had been a pain all along these years and the Trump administration's blacklisting of CNOOC made it worse."
As part of its strategy to leave the West, CNOOC is pursuing new acquisitions in Latin America and Africa, as well as prioritizing the development of new opportunities in Brazil, Guyana and Uganda.
Additionally, a senior industry source told Reuters that CNOOC is looking to sell "marginal and hard to manage" assets in the United Kingdom, Canada and the U.S.
CNOOC currently has holdings in the Eagle Ford and Rockies shale basins in the U.S., along with holdings in two offshore fields located in the Gulf of Mexico, Appomattox and Stampede.
Its primary Canadian investments are the Long Lake and Hangingstone oil sands projects in Alberta.