By msnbc.com news services
Big U.S. oil is not as big as it used to be.
Exxon Mobil has lost its position as the world's biggest publicly traded producer of oil, according to The Associated Press.
That distinction now belongs to PetroChina, a 13-year-old Chinese company created by the Chinese government to secure more oil for that nation's booming economy, the report said.
PetroChina announced Thursday that it pumped 2.4 million barrels a day last year, surpassing Exxon by 100,000, the AP reported.
"The company has grown rapidly over the last decade by squeezing more from China's aging oil fields and outspending Western companies to acquire more petroleum reserves in places like Canada, Iraq and Qatar. It's motivated by a need to lock up as much oil as possible," according to the report.
