China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China's largest oil producer, announced Tuesday that it has absorbed China Huanqiu Contracting and Engineering Corporation (HQCEC).

HQCEC was under the administration of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC). It is a transnational engineering company boasting the EPC (Engineering-Procurement-Construction) capability and strong ability in oil refining and chemical engineering fields.

A leading oil and natural gas exploration and production company, CNPC has seen its refinery and chemical sector growing rapidly in recent years. Acquiring the HQCEC will help the CNPC raise its competence in oil refining and chemical production and develop its overseas market, said Jiang Jiemin, vice president of CNPC.

Shao Ning, Deputy Director of SASAC, said that the acquisition benefits both companies.

The next step is to speed up the integration and transform the two companies' advantages into market competence, said Shao.

According to Shao, the SASAC plans to create more transnational corporations with international competence by prompting structural reforms of central state-owned enterprises in ways similar to the deal between CNPC and HQCEC.

After the acquisition, the HQCEC aims to become one of the world top 100 engineering company in 2010.

HQCEC has been honored as one of the top 225 International Contractors and the top 200 international designers by Engineering News Record, an authoritative engineering magazine of the US for six consecutive years from 1998 to 2004.