Sinopec to close four oilfields in Shandong

Closures are first in production base in more than five decades

China's second-largest oil major will shut down four oilfields in the country's eastern Shandong province to stay afloat amid plummeting oil prices.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, also known as Sinopec, will close the four oilfields in the Shengli oilfield, the nation's second-largest oilfield, later this year, company sources said. It will be the first shutdown after the first barrel of oil was pumped from the Shengli oilfield more than five decades ago.