Paper short abstract:

Chinese NOCs behavior in Sub-Saharan Africa has changed over time. As a result of continuous feedback, they developed and adopted a unique hybrid set of strategies. These were used to access the region’s growing oil reserves but in the long-term they may prove costly.

Paper long abstract:

Chinese NOCs' expanding role in Sub-Saharan Africa as importers and oil investors reveals a lot about the dynamics of their growing presence in the international oil market. Rather than studying the subject in the framework of bilateral relations or the relationship between NOCs and Beijing, as most existing literature does, this chapter explores why and how the behavior of Chinese NOCs has changed over time in Sub-Saharan Africa. The chapter contends that Chinese NOCs' history (past experiences, accumulated knowledge) and relentless drive to accumulate reserves for profit and for status shaped their interactions with other industry players and the external environment. Changes in the latter in turn led to changes in Chinese NOCs' behavior in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result of this continuous feedback Chinese NOCs developed and adopted a unique hybrid set of strategies, which includes strategies typical of successful private oil companies, and others reminiscent of those adopted by the heavily government-supported Japanese NOCs in the 60s and 70s. Despite some variation in how the different Chinese NOCs have adopted this hybrid set of strategies, they have all used it to increase (albeit at a lower rate than the media suggests) their access to Sub-Saharan Africa's growing oil reserves. Regardless of Chinese NOCs accomplishments, this chapter maintains that these practices might put Chinese NOCs' long-term presence in Sub-Saharan Africa in jeopardy.