Oil firm tightens measures to kick out graft

China National Petroleum Corp will shut its regional representative offices and cut overseas branches as the nation's biggest explorer tightens internal regulations to fight corruption.

"Because of the large amount of hotels and representative offices we run, it's easy for irregularities to happen and cause problems," CNPC said in a statement on Monday.

The Beijing-based company will close offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Wuhan by year-end and sell most hotel assets by 2017, other than those in remote areas that serve its oil and gas fields. It will also reduce the number of overseas offices by 38 percent.

CNPC and its listed unit, PetroChina Co, were among the worst-hit by the ongoing anti-graft campaign, losing more than a dozen senior officials to probes since August 2013. Chairman Wang Yilin, who took over in May, is seeking to rebuild CNPC's reputation by introducing tighter supervision of executives and making promotions more transparent.

The action is a response to suggestions given in June by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Communist Party's top anti-graft agency.

Some officials used loose supervision in the hotels and offices to make personal gains, CNPC said in the statement. Loopholes in overseas regulations allowed some officials to favor companies and individuals while awarding contracts.