The largest producer of gas and oil in Asia, PetroChina Co. Ltd., announced a record-breaking 21% year-over-year gain in third-quarter net profit as rising domestic fuel demand and higher output more than offset lower realized prices for gas and oil.
The business said in a public filing on Monday that net profit increased to 46.38 billion yuan ($6.3 billion) despite a 4.6% decline in revenue to 802 billion yuan.
For the same three months, PetroChina’s income was 17.86 billion yuan at Sinopec Corp (600028. SS), the leading Asian refiner, and 33.88 billion yuan at offshore oil and gas giant CNOOC Ltd (0883. HK).
According to PetroChina, its crude oil output increased by 22% to 122 million barrels from January to September compared to last year. However, the company did not identify the nations responsible for this development. Production of natural gas increased by 6.1% to 3,656.6 billion cubic feet. “The company seized the opportune timing of the recovery in the Chinese macro-economy and rebounds in oil and gas markets,” stated PetroChina.
The corporation reported a realized oil price of $75.30 per barrel for the nine months, which was 21% lower than at the same time last year. This decline was because oil prices had risen due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
National gas prices dropped to $8.81 per thousand cubic feet, a 4.8% decrease. The crude oil processed at PetroChina, the country’s second-largest refiner after Sinopec Corp., increased 16.5% in the first nine months to 1,044 million barrels, or 3.82 million daily. This increase was consistent with other refiners across the country who increased output to meet the rising demand for fuel at home and profit from the lucrative export market.
With domestic sales of 93 million tons, a 17% increase yearly, the total sales of gasoline, diesel, and jet kerosene increased 13.4% to 125.6 million tons. Kerosene, the smallest of the three refined fuels, led the surge, with sales rising by about 50% year over year to 14.3 million tons in the first nine months, according to PetroChina.
Between January and September, capital investment totaled 174 billion yuan, 10% more than the same period the previous year.
The corporation has continued to engage in downstream and petrochemical activities in addition to heavily funding oil and gas exploration; in September, it began building on a $3 billion petrochemical facility in Xinjiang’s western region.
Before the publication of the earnings, its Hong Kong-listed shares ended the previous Monday at HK$5.16, down 3.4%. They have increased 44.5% this year, while the Hang Seng index (.HSI) has decreased by 12%.
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