--- title: "China's 'Big Three' Oil Stocks Gain Again as Middle East Conflict Continues" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/277608149.md" description: "China's major oil stocks, including PetroChina, Cnooc, and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., surged by 10% as the U.S.-Iran conflict escalated, driving energy prices higher. This week, Brent crude rose 10% and WTI 9.3%. Analysts from Goldman Sachs favor upstream oil-and-gas stocks, maintaining buy ratings on the three companies. Despite geopolitical risks, China's oil supply remains manageable due to strategic reserves. However, shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz pose a significant risk, as half of China's crude imports transit through this route." datetime: "2026-03-03T10:56:53.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/277608149.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/277608149.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/277608149.md) --- > Supported Languages: [简体中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/277608149.md) | [繁體中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/277608149.md) # China's 'Big Three' Oil Stocks Gain Again as Middle East Conflict Continues By Jiahui Huang China's oil majors surged by the daily limit for a second consecutive day as the U.S.-Iran conflict continued to push energy prices higher. Shanghai-listed shares of the "Big Three"--PetroChina, Cnooc and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.--all rose by 10% in afternoon trade on Tuesday, bringing week-to-date gains to 21% each. Energy services stocks also surged during the session, with China Oilfield Services adding 10%. The gains came as the widening Middle East conflict pushed up energy prices. So far this week, front-month Brent is up 10%, while WTI is up 9.3%. That is buoying oil producers and refiners, but also surfacing concern about the longer-term impact of shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, which connects Middle East fuel to the rest of the world. Analysts at Goldman Sachs note that tanker traffic through the strait appears significantly disrupted as many shippers, oil producers, and insurers shift to wait-and-see mode. GS prefers exposure to upstream oil-and-gas, highlighting STO Express, Cnooc and PetroChina as preferred picks. It has buy ratings on all three. Buy-rated Asia upstream names seem to be pricing in an average Brent price of about $70 a barrel, with valuations relatively discounted versus developed market peers even after the recent rally, Nikhil Bhandari and others wrote in a note. Brent was last hovering below $80 a barrel. For Asia refiners outside of China, Iran-related geopolitical risk seems initially negative to neutral due to higher crude costs and freight rates but that pressure could be later passed on in a tight product market, they said. "We expect refined product prices to rise more than crude because crude has buffers like Strategic Petroleum Reserves which products lack," GS said. On a national level, oil supply risks remain manageable for China for now, Macquarie analysts wrote in a note. China's strategic petroleum reserves, commercial inventories and offshore floating storage should help cushion the near-term impact of any supply disruption, Macquarie added. While Iran supplies 11% of China's crude oil, the bigger risk lies in shipping, Capital Economics said, as around half of the country's crude imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires 03-03-26 0244ET ### Related Stocks - [SINOPEC CORP (00386.HK)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/00386.HK.md) - [PETROCHINA (601857.CN)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/601857.CN.md) - [CNOOC (600938.CN)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/600938.CN.md) - [Sinopec Corp. (600028.CN)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/600028.CN.md) - [PETROCHINA (00857.HK)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/00857.HK.md) - [CNOOC (00883.HK)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/00883.HK.md) ## Related News & Research - [PetroChina responds to unusual share price moves](https://longbridge.com/en/news/277621363.md) - [Iraq has decreased oil production from the Rumaila oil field by 700,000 bpd on Tuesday - Iraqi oil officials](https://longbridge.com/en/news/277635127.md) - [Nigerian key crude oil loadings hold steady in April, programmes show](https://longbridge.com/en/news/277223846.md) - [Aramco informed crude buyers cargoes must be loaded from Yanbu on Red Sea coast - sources](https://longbridge.com/en/news/277615628.md) - [Standard Chartered raises 2026 Brent forecasts following Middle East turmoil](https://longbridge.com/en/news/277663502.md)