The chain of Chinese oil and gas cooperation is getting longer and longer, from desert derricks to refinery towers. Since 2025, Chinese companies such as Sinopec, Zhongman Petroleum, and Korui Oil and Gas have successively signed oil and gas contracts in Algeria, extending cooperation from upstream blocks to drilling, drilling, pipeline inspection, and refining projects. Looking at Chinese oil companies with the old perspective of buying resources overseas, they may no longer be able to keep up with the changes.

Upstream consecutive block acquisition

In 2025, Sinopec and Sonatrach, the Algerian national oil company, signed a Hassi Berkane North production sharing contract, with an exploration and development investment scale of approximately 850 million US dollars around the block. In the subsequent Algeria Bid Round 2024 bidding, two out of the five oil and gas contracts signed were awarded to Chinese enterprises: Sinopec won Guern El Guersa II, and CNPC won Zerafa II. The minimum exploration investment for the five contracts was approximately $606 million. For Chinese private enterprises, Zerafa II has a special significance - China National Petroleum Corporation has become the first Chinese private oil company to enter the field of natural gas exploration in Africa.

Drilling rig follow-up

Winning blocks is just the starting point, the next step is the beginning of spending money. Zerafa II of Zhongman has approved its annual work plan until 2026, and the seismic data processing and environmental impact assessment contracts have entered into execution. The clear next steps include geological research, drilling, and related service procurement. The transmission from blocks to exploration and then to drilling, drilling rigs and oil services is landing. Almost synchronously, in April 2026, Korui Oil and Gas won the bid for the ENTP multi rig drilling project of the Algerian National Drilling Company and officially signed the contract, with an amount exceeding 750 million yuan, about 100 million US dollars. In April 2026, Algeria released a new round of Algeria Bid Round for 7 oil and gas blocks, with the bidding deadline set for November 26, 2026, and the contract is scheduled to be signed by the end of January 2027. Whoever ultimately obtains these blocks will largely determine where the next batch of earthquake, drilling, and oil service expenditures will be released. Keywords: the Belt and Road news, enterprise industry, oil and gas exploration

Refining downstream extension

The chain is still moving further downstream. In November 2025, Sinopec Guangzhou Engineering won the EPCC contract for Arzew Refinery's heavy naphtha hydrogenation and CCR reforming unit, with a total amount of approximately 440 million US dollars and a construction period of 30 months. The unit processes 738000 tons of heavy naphtha annually, and after commissioning, the refinery's gasoline production capacity will increase from 550000 tons to 1.2 million tons. From the wellhead all the way to the refinery, Chinese enterprises have obtained not only resource rights, but also engineering, equipment, and service orders. China Petroleum Engineering Construction Corporation (CPECC) has won the EPC contract for the third phase of Alrar gas field boosting, with a total amount of approximately 210 million US dollars, to build three new natural gas compressor units, aiming to stabilize Alrar's natural gas production at 10 million cubic meters per day. In 2025, the Chinese consortium formed by CAIEC and SLPI will also receive two formal service contracts to implement intelligent testing on five natural gas pipelines, with a total length of 3576 kilometers and a construction period of 24 months.Editor/Gao Xue