Drilling activity in China is expected to intensify over the next five years as the nation’s producers are under pressure to boost domestic natural gas and oil production and reduce reliance on imports.

China upstream

According to a recent report by Rystad Energy, China’s top three national oil companies (NOCs) are expected to spend about $123 billion on drilling and well services from 2021-2025. The investment is projected to yield about 118,000 new wells in China during the period. 

By way of comparison, Rystad said the NOCs — China National Offshore Oil Corp., China National Petroleum Corp. and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. — spent $96 billion in the 2016-2020 period.

“As state-owned entities, China’s major operators are not solely profit-driven,” said Rystad’s Peng Li,...