On September 26, 2026, the news center of Zhongman Petroleum's official website announced that Group President Li Shiguang led a team to attend the Kazakhstan China Investment Forum and signed a cooperation intention document in the oil and gas field during the forum. From public information, this intention document outlines three cooperation directions - oil and gas exploration and development, drilling engineering technology services, and oil and gas equipment exports. As for details such as specific blocks, drilling workload, and mud technology support, they have not been disclosed on the official website yet. Both parties are currently in the stage of setting up a framework and negotiating implementation. The landing point for this signing is in an area that Zhongman has already deeply cultivated. According to public information, Zhongman holds the rights to Tenge and onshore blocks in Kazakhstan and participates in oilfield development through a mining tax contract model; In the Middle East, Zhongman successfully obtained the development rights of the Middle East Frat oil field in Iraq and signed a development and production contract. Centered around the two major markets of Central Asia and the Middle East, Zhongman has established a three-dimensional business system for drilling engineering, mud technology services, and oil and gas equipment manufacturing and export.

Intention document locks in three major directions

This intention document outlines three cooperation directions - oil and gas exploration and development, drilling engineering technology services, and oil and gas equipment exports. Putting the perspective back on the forum, this intention agreement is the latest confirmation of China's strategic position in Central Asia: it has both imaginative space for upstream exploration and development, as well as practical leverage for engineering services and equipment exports. It should be noted that this signing is a cooperation intention framework document, and the specific blocks, workload, and technical solutions have not been disclosed to the public. Whether it can ultimately be converted into a substantive order depends on the subsequent negotiation process. For peers, what is truly worth tracking is whether the intention agreement can lead to the completion of substantive projects in Kazakhstan.

Mud pump knocks open the door to North America

Compared to the signing itself, what deserves more attention from peers is the recent actions of the Zhongman equipment sector. Just before this signing, the official website of Zhongman disclosed that the equipment group's P2400 mud pump order has landed in the high-end North American market. According to public reports, this is not the first time that Zhongman has entered North America - in August 2025, its independently developed ZJ90DB drilling rig achieved its first export to North America, accompanied by the self-developed DQP2400 five cylinder mud pump. From complete drilling rigs to core components such as mud pumps, Zhongman is gradually extending its high-end oil and gas equipment business card to mature markets in Europe and America, which is also a step towards high value-added equipment exports. Keywords: the Belt and Road News Network, oil and gas exploration, China and Oman, oil

Equipment going abroad drives environmental protection support

In the eyes of industry observers, the industry value of this signing goes beyond a single order. Firstly, mud pumps and solid control equipment have always been the main export categories of Zhongman Equipment; Secondly, the extensive use of water-based drilling fluid systems in Zhongman's overseas projects has raised the demand for environmentally friendly equipment such as mud retention and solid-liquid separation. In short, wherever drilling services go, the extension space of equipment and environmental protection matching follows. It should be noted that the above analysis of the demand for water-based drilling fluid and mud matching is an industry interpretation and inference, not the original content disclosed on the official website, and the implementation situation still needs to be tracked. For peers, there are three points that are truly worth tracking: whether the intention agreement can complete substantive projects in Kazakhstan; Can the export of P2400 mud pump equipment continue to increase after the North American order; Can the integrated approach of exploration and development, drilling services, and equipment manufacturing be replicated in Central Asia.Editor/Gao Xue