Great Wall Drilling Company, a subsidiary of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), has suspended six projects in Lybia and Niger due to the political unrest.

Great Wall Drilling Company, a subsidiary of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), has suspended six projects in Lybia and Niger due to the political unrest, a company spokesperson said Friday.

CNPC is expected to take losses of 1.2 billion yuan ($US 188 million) on the suspended projects, more than that the company suffered during the global financial crisis in 2009.

Citing significant limitations of its partner, CNPC in June gave up plans for a joint venture with Encana Corp., Canada's largest natural gas producer, to develop the Canadian company's shale-gas properties in northern British Columbia.

In 2010, the three major Chinese oil companies – Sinopec, CNPC and China National Offshore Oil Corporation – posted a record set of mergers and acquisitions worth more than US$30 billion and accounting for 20 percent of the world's upsteam resources deals, according to statistics released by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation.

China's business press carried the story above on Monday.