In the last 25 years, China has gone from providing less than 2 percent of Latin America’s exports to being the second largest trade partner for the region and the single biggest trade partner of South America. This skyrocketing trade relation comes on the back of China’s ambitious Belt and Road global infrastructure initiative, and gives Beijing enormous influence in critical emerging markets.
After coming into office, the administration of President Donald Trump has eliminated licenses for oil companies to operate in Venezuela, despite initial hints that it would continue them, with presidential envoy Richard Grenell’s visits to Caracas. This means that sanctions on state-owned PDVSA are fully back on. Chevron, the main U.S. corporation on the ground, is back to having only a secret license for minimum maintenance and security, as it still a shareholder in four joint ventures.
The power sector – which currently accounts for 18 percent of China’s gas consumption – is viewed by the industry as a key engine of growth, according to people involved in advising on energy policy. Under the sector’s latest proposal, China would build nearly 70 gigawatts of new gas-fired capacity by 2030, an almost 50 percent increase from 2025’s estimated level, they said, asking not to be named as the plan is not public.
Previously in 2025 CNOOC Ltd. announced three startups in the Bohai Sea and three in the South China Sea. The Bohai Sea projects are the Caofeidian 6-4 oilfield adjustment, phase 2 of the Luda 5-2 North field and the Bozhong 26-6 field. The South China Sea projects are Wenchang 19-1 oilfield phase 2, the Dongfang 29-1 field and the Panyu 11-12/10-1/10-2 Oilfield Adjustment Joint Development Project.
Over the first four months of 2025, China produced 1.58 billion tons of coal, which was 6.6% higher than the output booked for the same period a year earlier. In April alone, China produced 3.8% more coal than a year ago, at 389.31 million tons. This was down from a month earlier when production hit a record, but still strong enough to cement coal’s role in the country’s energy mix.
Chinese fossil fuels output fell in April from the record levels hit in the prior month, although natural gas, crude oil and coal all delivered increases compared to the previous year as the government continues to prioritize security of supply despite weaker prices.
Crude oil prices were set for a weekly gain after a string of losses on the news of a trade war ceasefire between the U.S. and China, which sparked hopes the two would come to a mutually beneficial understanding that would end the tariff spat.
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) has announced a major shale gas exploration breakthrough of its Project Deep Earth – Sichuan and Chongqing Natural Gas Base. The vertical depth of the well reaches over 5,300 m with a 1,312-m-long horizontal section, setting a new record for vertical depth of shale gas wells in China.
The current trading cycle is for crude loaded in July, and any cargoes bought now for June is considered prompt. Traders were mixed on the reason behind the purchase, with some pointing to a supply overhang in the Middle Eastern market – meaning cheaper barrels – and others flagging costlier fuel oil.
Chinese demand also registered a decline in terms of LNG from state-run companies, with Bloomberg reporting that China re-exported over 280,000 tons of LNG in April to date, clocking in as the highest single-month re-export volume on record. The re-export volume represents nearly 8% of total imports for April.