Yanchang Petroleum cuts crude output

Low crude prices and a global supply glut are forcing more Chinese oil companies to stop drilling and shut down fields.

After China National Petroleum Corp and Sinopec Group, the nation's top two crude producers and energy giants, announced output reductions last week, the country's fourth-biggest oil producer Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Group Co has now followed suit, by cutting output by 200,000 metric tons this year.

A senior Yanchang official, who declined to be named, said the cutback is being made to improve the firm's operational structure, as well as reduce oil stocks.