In 2018, the Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Oil and Gas System was implemented, and supporting measures were introduced one after another to promote the further expansion of the oil and gas market. The promotion of the competitive transfer of mining rights has continued, and Xinjiang has for the first time sold the exploration rights of five oil and gas exploration blocks through listing. The supervision of the fair opening of oil and gas pipeline networks has been strengthened, and oil and gas infrastructure will be opened to third parties. Market access for oil sales has been further relaxed, and restrictions on more than 30 foreign-funded chain gas stations requiring Chinese ownership have been lifted.The management system of oil and gas import and export has been improved, and non-state-owned trading enterprises in the free trade zone have for the first time been granted the right to import crude oil. The pricing mechanism of natural gas has been further improved; the price management of residential gas has been changed from the highest gate station price management to reference gate station price management so as to realize the connection between residential gas and nonresidential gas reference price levels. The promotion of the successful listing of Shanghai crude oil futures will promote the formation of Asian pricing power for crude oil and enhance China's influence on pricing in the international oil market. In addition, the state has issued the Opinions on Promoting the Coordinated and Stable Development of Natural Gas, which is conducive to solving the problems of the incomplete natural gas production, supply, storage and marketing system, and unbalanced industrial development in China. Focusing on enhancing domestic oil and gas exploration and development,such fiscal and taxation support policies as shale gas tax cuts and the proposed extension of subsidy years have been introduced so as to slow down the excessive rise in oil and gas dependence on foreign countries, and enhance the ability to ensure national energy security.

At present, the wave of digitization is sweeping the world while the rapid evolution of the consumer market,cross-border competition between digital enterprises and fierce competition among traditional enterprises are forcing various industries to speed up their digital transformation. The oil and gas industry has been the practitioner and beneficiary of the application of digital technology for decades; however, it seems to have become the "laggard" in the new wave of digitization represented by "CBIMA"(short for cloud computing, big data, the Internet of Things, mobile Internet and artificial intelligence). In the context of low and middling oil prices weakening the profitability of oil and gas companies, increasing competition for alternative energy sources and accelerating energy transformation, there is great potential for promoting the digital transformation of the oil and gas industry. Rebuilding competitiveness through digital transformation is increasingly becoming the consensus in the industry. It would be advisable for Chinese petroleum enterprises to take the initiative to adapt to the trend of digital transformation, formulate clear digital strategies and transformation roadmaps, actively and steadily carry out digital pilot projects, speed up the training of digital professionals and strive to achieve the best transformation results.

Belt and Road initiative is a very important strategy for Chinese companies to cooperate with foreign ones.The Middle East is a region that contains abundant oil and gas resources. Meanwhile, many countries in the Middle East support and join in the Belt and Road initiative. Since oil and gas resources are of vital significance for Chinese industry,the cooperation in oil and gas with countries in the Middle East is an important part in ‘Belt and Road’ initiative. CNPC began its overseas business from the year 1993 and now it keeps cooperating with many countries in the Middle East. UAE has a large amount of oil and gas reserves and after evaluation, CNPC became the shareholder of ADNOC Onshore and gained 8% of the stocks.In order to improve the development effect, ADNOC appointed several international oil companies as asset leaders for four assets. As a reward, each asset leader can have more income and less tax. As a result, CNPC decided to compete for NEB asset leader with other international oil companies. After analyzing the current development plan, our group conducted the optimization scheme for NEB asset that can help improve the current situation and enhance oil recovery.The optimization scheme is divided into three steps. First is the establishment of effective drainage system.Second is to control water cut and GOR. Third is to enhance oil recovery factor based on first two steps. After discussion with the research group of ADNOC, they admitted that our strategy can solve the problems. Finally, CNPC obtained the asset leader, and has more impact on UAE oil and gas industry since then.

With the global energy transformation the international liquefied natural gas(LNG) market is undergoing profound changes. Due to world economic development, industrial restructuring, natural gas and alternative energy competition as well as other factors, global LNG supply and demand, LNG market structure and LNG prices will start to show new trends shortly. Hence, China, a major natural gas producer and an important LNG importer in the world,will face plenty of new opportunities and challenges in LNG imports. In response, we must take appropriate measures on industrial policies and regulations, prices and markets, etc.

The oil refining industry in China supports the needs of national economic development and has gone through industrial upgrading at all stages, as represented by the upgrades in the quality of refined oil products.Currently, it has acquired strong technical and engineering strength and delivered good results in scale, information technology and environmental friendliness. However, compared with the world's leading oil refining powers, the oil refining industry in China still lags behind in terms of overall competitiveness. There is an urgent need to enhance its competitiveness and adjust its product structure, plant structure and capacity structure to both launch a new round of industrial upgrading and coordinate with the associated industries. Great potential exists for China to cooperate with the countries along the Belt and Road initiative in various fields such as petroleum resources, product markets and technical equipment. Together, multi-dimensional cooperation bonded by resources, markets, technologies and capital/funds can be carried out, and cooperation between the upstream and downstream industries throughout the industry chain can be facilitated. There is much to expect from the prospects for cooperative development.