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BEIJING (AP) -- China's No. 2 oil producer, China Petrochemical Corp., also known as Sinopec, said Wednesday it will acquire more foreign oil and gas assets in a bid to become a global competitor. "The company's strategic goal over the next 10-15 years is to develop Sinopec into an internationally competitive transnational energy and chemical company," chairman Su Shulin said in a statement on Sinopec's Web site. Sinopec also will step up efforts to find more oil in China, according to Su's statement. The Web site said he delivered the remarks at a Dec. 28-30 meeting of company executives. Demand in China for imported oil and gas has soared amid an economic boom and government oil companies are investing billions of dollars to secure access to foreign supplies. Su's statement gave no indication where Sinopec would pursue new oil and gas projects. China has become the second-biggest oil consumer after the United States. China met its own needs for decades from domestic fields but demand has outstripped that supply, and the country relied on imports for almost half of its energy needs last year. Chinese producers have signed exploration or production deals in Africa, Latin America and Central Asia. Beijing's strategy has strained diplomatic relations with Washington, which has criticized its ties with isolated governments such as Iran and Sudan. Sinopec is China's biggest refiner and its second-biggest oil producer behind China National Petroleum Corp. Sinopec Group Corp. (in Chinese): http://www.sinopecgroup.com
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