NYSE Moves to Delist Chinese Oil Company

The Big Board’s regulatory arm determined that Cnooc was “no longer suitable for listing” in light of the executive order, which Mr. Trump signed in November. The order has remained in effect under the Biden administration.

Cnooc, one of the main Chinese state-controlled oil-and-gas producers, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company will continue to have shares listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange even after the NYSE carries out its delisting. But U.S. investors who currently hold Cnooc’s NYSE-listed shares may have difficulty converting them into overseas shares, and many may choose to sell in the coming days. The NYSE-listed shares fell 2.8% Friday to $118.74.

In January, the NYSE delisted three Chinese telecommunications companies that were covered by Mr. Trump’s executive order, following a bewildering back-and-forth in which the Big Board first said it was delisting them, then backtracked, only to reverse itself again. People familiar with the matter blamed the NYSE’s reversals on confusing guidance from the outgoing administration.

Some U.S. investors sold their shares in the Chinese telecoms at a loss before the order took effect in January, while others who didn’t found themselves stuck with shares they couldn’t sell or transfer due to restrictions on trading the securities.

Cnooc wasn’t on the initial list of Chinese companies covered by Mr. Trump’s order when he signed it in November, but it was added later, which is why the NYSE didn’t take action to delist Cnooc until now.

Mr. Trump’s order banned Americans from trading securities of dozens of Chinese companies, though only a few of them have a significant presence in U.S. capital markets. The order’s goal was to stop U.S. investors’ money from aiding Beijing’s efforts to modernize its military and security services. It came amid a series of other last-minute moves by the Trump administration that locked in tough policies against China before President Biden took office.

Earlier Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden administration plans to allow a Trump-era rule aimed at combating Chinese technology threats to take effect next month, over objections from U.S. businesses.

That rule—which is separate from the executive order that led to the NYSE delistings—enables the Commerce Department to ban technology-related business transactions that it determines pose a national-security threat, part of an effort to secure U.S. supply chains.

Write to Alexander Osipovich at alexander.osipovich@dowjones.com