China has added nine oil and gas producers in North Africa, South America and the Middle East to a list of countries that it wants major Chinese companies to invest in.
Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Morocco, Libya, Niger, Norway, Ecuador and Bolivia are now on the list, which builds on previous ones issued in 2004 and 2005, the National Development and Reform Commission said Thursday.
It underlines China's desire to secure greater access to oil and natural gas supplies to help offset the country's growing thirst for energy imports.
Chinese companies that invest in the oil and gas sectors in these countries will receive benefits including tax breaks.
China's major oil companies are already present in many of the newly added countries either in terms of exploration or production.
On Tuesday, Canada's TG World Energy Corp. (TGE.V) said oil had flowed in Niger from the Saha-1 well drilled by its partner CNPC International Tenere, a unit of China National Petroleum Corp.

Source: Marketwatch

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