Besides the 'Big Three Oil Companies', who are other major players across the upstream and downstream petroleum industry?

In addition, Norinco Group has taken a stake in Huajin Group and become its crude oil supplier. Currently, the petrochemical industry chain procures up to 8 million tons of crude oil annually, with three core business segments: petrochemicals, chemical fertilizers, and road asphalt. After reading this, you’ll understand why China North Industries Group Corporation (Norinco) partnered with Saudi Arabia to establish an oil company. But hold on—there’s more to surprise you. Here’s another example: CITIC Group A petroleum ‘star’ in the financial sector Yes, you read that right—the CITIC referred to here is indeed the same CITIC familiar to many through its banks and securities firms. CITIC Group operates across an exceptionally broad spectrum. Its subsidiary CITIC Resources engages globally in developing overseas mineral and petroleum resources, focusing on strategic resource investments spanning the entire industrial chain. It participates in multiple development projects across Australia, Brazil, Peru, Gabon, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan. According to official website information, since 2015, CITIC Resources’ crude oil production has surged dramatically: the Karazhanbas oilfield in Kazakhstan achieved an average daily crude output of 39,100 barrels (100% equity basis); the Yuédōng oilfield in Liaoning Province averaged 7,250 barrels per day; and the Non-Bula block on Seram Island, Indonesia, averaged 3,350 barrels per day. China Poly Group A low-profile petroleum giant When people hear 'Poly', real estate usually comes to mind first. China Poly Group Co., Ltd. jointly established Poly-GCL Petroleum & Natural Gas Group Holdings Limited with GCL Group Holdings Co., Ltd. Media reports indicate that the company’s current oil and gas exploration and development activities are concentrated primarily in Ethiopia’s Ogaden Basin, where it holds two development blocks and eight exploration blocks. Its 'Ethiopia–Djibouti Petroleum and Natural Gas Project' comprises four major components: oil and gas exploration and development, long-distance pipelines, liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant construction, and port facilities. Extracted natural gas is transported via pipeline from Ethiopia to Djibouti, liquefied there, and then shipped by sea to end markets. A 3-million-ton-per-year LNG production line is expected to be completed in 2021, with capacity gradually expanding to 10 million tons annually. Xinjiang Guanghui China’s largest private-sector oil company Xinjiang Guanghui’s petroleum operations are managed by its subsidiary Guanghui Energy. Leveraging Xinjiang’s abundant energy resources, Guanghui adopts an industry development model centered on energy, oriented toward resource acquisition and conversion. It has successively entered the liquefied natural gas (LNG), coal chemical, coal mining, and oil & gas exploration & development sectors. It is China’s first large-scale land-based LNG producer and supplier; the first non-state enterprise to acquire overseas oil & gas resources; the first to construct and operate a cross-border natural gas pipeline; the first privately controlled company to build a national railway heavy-haul electrified line; and the first non-state enterprise granted import qualifications for crude oil trade. The company has now established four core business segments—coal, LNG, alcohol-ether fuels, coal tar, and petroleum—with energy logistics as its supporting pillar: natural gas liquefaction, coal mining, coal chemical conversion, and oil & gas exploration & development. It has evolved into a large-scale, integrated energy listed company covering upstream (coal and oil & gas exploration/production), midstream (energy transportation and logistics transshipment), and downstream (sales)—and remains the only domestic private enterprise possessing coal, oil, and gas resources simultaneously.

Has a mysterious 'X virus' broken out in Ethiopia?

Tuuba cited her two-year-old nephew as an example: he was admitted to a hospital in Jigjiga earlier this year. He remained hospitalized for one month, receiving multiple blood transfusions with no improvement—and died shortly after discharge. She said his symptoms were common among all patients suffering from this unidentified illness: swelling, fever, insomnia, yellowing of the eyes and palms, and loss of appetite. A doctor from the Jijiga referral hospital, who conducted an investigation in the region but wished to remain anonymous, stated that most locals presenting at clinics he visited faced life-threatening conditions. Sebul said 'countless' neighbors had died in this manner in recent years. Dr. Hassan Ali of the Haarcad village health clinic claimed the number of reported cases per village correlated directly with proximity to the Calub well. Xuseen Sheekh Siraad, chairman of the Dhoobaweyn district, estimated at least 2,000 deaths since 2014. However, no official death toll exists. Most residents living around Calub are nomadic pastoralists with limited contact with the Ethiopian government. Many buried their deceased without notifying local officials. Former President of Ethiopia’s Somali Region, Chinese diplomatic envoy Meles Alem, former Minister of Communications Ahmed Shide, and Abdi Mohamoud Omar—former President of Ethiopia’s Somali Region and currently serving as Deputy Prime Minister—attended the ceremony celebrating crude oil extraction. Moreover, Hassan explained that most people avoid clinics altogether; even when they do seek care, facilities lack both diagnostic tools and treatment options for severe conditions such as liver failure. Last year, Poly-GCL conducted its first test crude oil extraction in the Ogaden Basin. It also signed a $4-billion (GBP 3.1 billion) memorandum of understanding with neighboring Djibouti to build a 760-kilometer pipeline from Ogaden to Djibouti’s coast—enabling Ethiopia to export up to 6.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas annually. At the groundbreaking ceremony in June 2018, Ethiopia’s Nobel Prize-winning Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stated that oil and gas would help alleviate the country’s unemployment crisis. He declared: 'Oil production will never become our curse.' He added that full-capacity production could generate annual revenues of up to USD 7 billion—and that exports would commence in 2021. Yet oil and gas exploration in Ogaden carries a long and troubled history. In 1945, Emperor Haile Selassie initiated Ethiopia’s first oil exploration in Ogaden—but mass protests forced him to suspend the project. Between 1955 and 1991, 46 wells were drilled at Calub and Hilala sites.

Ethiopia and Djibouti to Jointly Build Oil Pipeline

Sep 30, 2026

Dangote Group and Ethiopian Investment Holding launched a $660 million oil pipeline project connecting Djibouti and Ethiopia, set to operate within 18 months. The 120-km infrastructure will transport fuels, reducing transport time from five days to 24 hours.

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