Shares of Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas Group surged after the private Chinese oilfield services provider said it won the exploration and development rights for the Zerafa II natural gas block in Algeria.

Zhongman Petroleum [SHA: 603619] was trading up 8.5 percent at CNY23.46 (USD3.26) as of 2.05 p.m. in Shanghai today.

Zhongman Petroleum won a bid from Algeria’s National Agency for Hydrocarbon Resources Development, also known as ALNAFT, to explore the Zerafa II project under a production-sharing contract, the Shanghai-based company announced yesterday, without disclosing the investment value.

Located in Algeria’s central region, Zerafa II covers over 38,697 square kilometers and sits in the southern part of the Gourara-Timimoun basin, the country’s main gas-bearing basin.

Zhongman Petroleum will later negotiate with the ALNAFT in light of Algeria’s oil and gas field exploration and development policies and the conditions of the project, the firm noted, adding that this project will help it to consolidate and strengthen its control over upstream oil and gas resources.

Zhongman Petroleum was established as a drilling services provider, but resource exploration and development gradually became its leading business. Its operating income from the oil and gas exploration and development business exceeded CNY2.3 billion (USD324 million) last year, accounting for over 56 percent of its total revenue. Overseas markets made up nearly 48 percent of that.

Zhongman Petroleum operates oil and gas resources in China and Kazakhstan and obtained exploration and development rights for two blocks in Iraq last year. The company produced 854,600 tons of crude oil in 2024, while its total oil and gas production reached to just over 1 million tons of crude equivalent, with both figures soaring to new record highs.