Fueling Up The Future.docVIP

Fueling Up The Future 　　Energy， at all ages， has been a vital factor for the development of human society. Consequently， from winning the bid for exploring some blocks in the Talara oil field in Peru in 1993 to exploring Iraq’s Rumaila oil field in 2009 with British multinational BP， Chinese petroleum enterprises have been committed to improving national energy security by forming energy supply networks abroad as well as exploring and expanding overseas markets. 　　With Chinese President Xi Jinping putting forward the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road （Belt and Road） Initiative in 2013， China’s energy companies have begun to pay more attention to investment and cooperation in the Belt and Road region. Chinese petroleum enterprises have invested $26 billion， recruited more than 90 percent of their workforce regionally， and brought in about$150 billion in tax revenue to countries along the Belt and Road， according to statistics from the China National Petroleum Corp. （CNPC） Economics and Technology Research Institute. The CNPC is China’s biggest oil producer. 　　“Such cooperative relations have contributed much to the economic and social development of countries along the Belt and Road，” said Zhu Yingchao， a senior research fellow with the Overseas Investment Environment Research Department of the institute， at a forum on the Belt and Road energy strategy held in Peking University on September 12. 　　Han Wenke， a senior research fellow with the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission， predicted that the energy demand in China would increase in the mid and long term because before peaking， per-capita energy consumption would keep rising with GDP growth. In other words， energy will continue to be an important pillar propping up modern society. 　　 Reciprocal scenario 　　Countries along the Belt and Road are not only intense oil and gas consumers but also a source of untapped potential. Unexploited proven