Under former chairman Jiang Jiemin, PetroChina Co Ltd had a freewheeling spelding policy. Now with the government crackdown on corruption, the state owned oil firm is seeking to distance itself from the tainted legacy of its former head.

As the company is undergoing an investigation conducted by Chinese authoritites, it would most likely post a drop in capital spending ro 2013. This was confirmed both by company officers and industry analysts. This is the first such decline reported by the state owned firm since it had the company listed in both the Hong Kong and New York stock market indices.

It still retains the title of most valuable oil company in terms of market capitalization and remains in the hunt for possible takeovers. It has vowed though to become more strict in choosing purchases, focusing on what it terms as 'large-scale and quality projects.'

Reuters reported that according to a company official who has attended meetings headed by new chairman Zhou Jiping, "Thje new management is completely different from Jiang Jiemin, under whom PetroChina has been spending like crazy and got into a lot of deals at home and abroad with questionable economics." The official declined to be named as he did not have authority to speak with the media.