China's 'Big Three' Oil Stocks Gain Again as Middle East Conflict Continues

By Jiahui Huang

China's oil majors surged by the daily limit for a second consecutive day as the U.S.-Iran conflict continued to push energy prices higher.

Shanghai-listed shares of the "Big Three"--PetroChina, Cnooc and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.--all rose by 10% in afternoon trade on Tuesday, bringing week-to-date gains to 21% each.

Energy services stocks also surged during the session, with China Oilfield Services adding 10%.

The gains came as the widening Middle East conflict pushed up energy prices. So far this week, front-month Brent is up 10%, while WTI is up 9.3%.

That is buoying oil producers and refiners, but also surfacing concern about the longer-term impact of shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, which connects Middle East fuel to the rest of the world.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs note that tanker traffic through the strait appears significantly disrupted as many shippers, oil producers, and insurers shift to wait-and-see mode.

GS prefers exposure to upstream oil-and-gas, highlighting STO Express, Cnooc and PetroChina as preferred picks. It has buy ratings on all three.

Buy-rated Asia upstream names seem to be pricing in an average Brent price of about $70 a barrel, with valuations relatively discounted versus developed market peers even after the recent rally, Nikhil Bhandari and others wrote in a note. Brent was last hovering below $80 a barrel.

For Asia refiners outside of China, Iran-related geopolitical risk seems initially negative to neutral due to higher crude costs and freight rates but that pressure could be later passed on in a tight product market, they said.

"We expect refined product prices to rise more than crude because crude has buffers like Strategic Petroleum Reserves which products lack," GS said.

On a national level, oil supply risks remain manageable for China for now, Macquarie analysts wrote in a note.

China's strategic petroleum reserves, commercial inventories and offshore floating storage should help cushion the near-term impact of any supply disruption, Macquarie added.

While Iran supplies 11% of China's crude oil, the bigger risk lies in shipping, Capital Economics said, as around half of the country's crude imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 03, 2026 02:44 ET (07:44 GMT)