Exploration losses loom for oil majors

Industry experts are predicting losses in the upstream exploration activities of China's top three oil giants this year, as a result of the plunge in global oil prices.

Li Yan, a researcher with domestic energy consultancy Shandong Longzhong Information Technology Co, thinks all three - China National Petroleum Corp, Sinopec Group and China National Offshore Oil Corp - are likely to have slipped into the red for the full-year 2014, after six months of falling crude prices since June.

"If the global crude price falls to $40 per barrel, the three companies' exploration activities will definitely show a loss in 2015," he said.