The sharp rise in oil prices is causing concern in China, to the point that, despite the austerity measures the Asian giant is implementing, its oil companies have significantly increased their investment budgets.

China's three largest oil companies —PetroChina, Sinopec, and CNOOC—plan to invest US$84 billion in 2022, nearly 5% more than in 2021. In fact, PetroChina and Sinopec have the largest investment budgets this year, second only to Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company.

2022 Investment Budgets of the World's Largest Oil Companies

(millions of U.S. dollars)

Source: Bloomberg