Aug 28 2018, 2:30 AMAug 29 2018, 9:45 AMAugust 28 2018, 2:30 AMAugust 29 2018, 9:45 AM
China has the opportunity to move further into Middle Eastern oil and gas and acquire a stake in the Iranian South Pars gas field after Total withdrew under pressure from US sanctions. Thus far, China has a presence in Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as well as Iran, where China National Petroleum (CNPC) already has a 30% stake in phase 11 of Iran's South Pars and will become the majority stakeholder. The Chinese government is also looking at expanding its influence across Central Asia through an investment deal with Kazakhstan's state-owned VTB Bank that would see it take over Russia's largest bank, Sberbank.