China’s state energy giant CNPC plans to increase its oil and gas exploration budget five times this year as the country’s dependence on foreign-sourced energy commodities deepens to nearly 70 percent for oil and over 45 percent for natural gas, the South China Morning Post reports. CNPC will spend US$740 million (5 billion yuan) on exploration to pursue the goal of reducing import dependence and it will also spend 25 more than last year on discovery evaluation. “As energy is a lifeline of the economy, CNPC as a key state enterprise…
