Economics Minister Wang Mei-hua says the government will investigate why Taiwan’s state-run oil group sold a 35% stake in an African oil field to a Chinese enterprise. Wang was speaking Thursday.
The oil group is called CPC Corporation, Taiwan. The group has found an oil field in the African country of Chad, and an initial shipment of 950,000 barrels of crude oil from the field is due to arrive in Taiwan in early December.
However, it has been reported that the group sold a 35% stake in the field to a Chinese enterprise with ties to the Chinese military back in 2016. That was before the then opposition DPP took power from the KMT.
But sensitive timing is not the only issue. The company sold half of its stake to the Chinese enterprise, higher than a 33% limit. In other words, Taiwan and China each holds a 35% stake in the oil field, with the remaining 30% in Chad’s hands.
There are concerns that Taiwan’s right to manage the oil field in Chad could now be on shaky ground, as Chad maintains diplomatic ties with China. But the oil group says there are legal protections. The economics minister has promised a report on the sale within a week.