From 2005 onward, Sudan largely had the opposite influence on CNPC’s global operations. It represented a vehicle of restriction for the company’s global operations due to the consequences of reputational, security, and political risk. First, after the outbreak of the Darfur civil war, CNPC’s close relationship with the Sudanese government fed political opposition in the United States against the company, obstructing its ability to effectively build and run a global corporation. Among other factors, CNPC’s Sudan operations played a role in limiting the extent to which it could gain access to technology and expertise through mergers and acquisitions of midsized American and Canadian oil companies.