China Orders PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC to Boost Domestic Oil and Gas Output as Iranian Supply Vanishes

China's National Energy Administration has directed PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC and other domestic producers to expand production capacity, increase investment and accelerate development of national oil and gas supply bases, following an October 21 meeting. The directive calls for steady crude output growth and rapid natural gas growth, as eight months of Middle East shipping disruptions and the effective disappearance of Iranian crude add urgency. China entered the Iran war in February holding an estimated 1.3 billion to 1.4 billion barrels of crude, letting refiners cut imports when Brent surged above $100. June crude imports fell by an estimated 4.4 million barrels per day versus the 2025 average. But inventories are finite: September refinery runs of about 13.99 million bpd against 4.43 million bpd domestic output and 9.03 million bpd of imports left a 530,000 bpd shortfall covered by storage withdrawals — the fourth draw in five months. Onshore stocks stood near 1.192 billion barrels in the week ending October 19. Iranian floating inventories available to China fell below 1 million barrels by October 5 and were exhausted, per Kpler. China and Russia agreed on October 21 to support companies expanding oil cooperation, without specific supply commitments. FGE NexantECA and Energy Aspects cut fourth-quarter Chinese import forecasts to roughly 9.2 million to 9.3 million bpd.