Asian oil cos must detail anti-bribery efforts-NGO

By Tom Bergin

LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - State-backed Asian oil companies, scrambling to secure energy supplies overseas, should publish evidence of anti-corruption efforts to help ensure oil wealth is not wasted, Transparency International (TI) said on Monday.

The anti-corruption watchdog criticised China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Malaysia's Petronas [PETR.UL] for not disclosing information on anti-corruption efforts.

"Disclosure is relatively absent in the areas of payments and anti-corruption programmes, whether in terms of reporting on policy, management systems or performance," TI said of the state-backed companies.

The non-governmental organisation (NGO)'s 2008 report on "Revenue Transparency of Oil and Gas Companies" also criticised the companies for not fully disclosing payments to oil-producing countries.

And it said many Western oil majors, including the world's largest non-government controlled oil company by market value, Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), were also weak in this area.

Chinese, and to a lesser extent Indian, oil companies have expanded their international footprint dramatically in recent years as they seek to secure energy supplies for booming domestic economies.

"I think that is not a balanced view," CNOOC Ltd. head of investor relations Xiao Zongwei said of the report. "If you look at our announcements and the code of conduct you will find that there are very strict policies" on corruption, he said.

CNOOC Ltd. is the listed unit of the CNOOC group, which handles most of the group's overseas business.