Exxon Mobil's biggest competitor in the quest for oil reserves is not BP or Royal Dutch Shell. It is the governments of China, South Korea and India.

.. National oil companies did about 15 major transactions outside of their borders last year, up from two in 2000, said Saad Rahim, an analyst at PFC Energy in Washington. The state companies are a "new breed of competitor" that are driving prices higher and squeezing returns on international projects, Morgan Stanley's oil analysts said in a report in November.

"Having some kind of political alignment between nations and their oil companies is bringing a distinct competitive advantage," John Knight, senior vice president of international business development and acquisitions at Norway's state-owned Statoil, said in an interview. "That advantage will not be going to the stateless multinationals."

International Herald Tribune