Chinese takeaway is going nowhere

…But concerns about China’s energy deals are overblown. It is immaterial who owns oil reserves as sooner or later the oil ends up on the world market. If China decides to hoard oil from one of its foreign reserves, say in Kazakhstan or Sudan, it frees up a barrel of Saudi oil for the world market.

Owning reserves does not change the price either. If the price of oil goes to $100 a barrel, and China owns a field in Sudan, the price for that barrel from Sudan is still $100. If China hoards that oil from Sudan for its own use, it would miss the chance to sell it at the higher price. That oil from Sudan would effectively cost the Chinese the same as if they bought oil on the open market.
Guardian