03 December 2014, News Wires – Sinopec Oilfield Services Group’s president has reportedly been dismissed and placed under investigation, according to Chinese state media.
Xue Wandong was relieved of his duties by the company’s party apparatus, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said on its Weibo social media account, according to a Reuters translation.
He is being investigated for reasons that were not specified.
State media reported last month that China’s corruption watchdog the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) had launched a series of inspections into state-owned enterprises and government bodies including Sinopec Group, the parent of Sinopec.
The anti-corruption inspections, which were forecast to take about a month, were to focus on individuals in leadership roles.
Sinopec said in a statement on its Weibo account that it has zero tolerance for behaviour that “violates discipline or the law”.
The oilfield services arm, which was formed in late 2012 from the amalgamation of service departments for eight oilfields, has been planning a $1.5 billion initial public offering in Hong Kong, people familiar with the matter said in August.
The company entered into a joint venture with US-listed Weatherford International in May, in order to tap into the country’s potentially vast shale resources.
China’s president, Xi Jinping, who took office in March of last year, has made fighting pervasive corruption a central theme of his administration, warning the problem is so severe it could threaten the party’s survival.
The party announced in July that China’s former domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang is being investigated for “serious disciplinary violations”, the usual euphemism for corruption.
He was once the head of state oil giant China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
– Upstream