Petrochina Swings to Loss in H1
Petrochina, the listed arm of Chinese state-run CNPC, on August 27 announced a net loss of yuan 29.98bn ($4.36bn) during the six months to June 30 (H1) thanks to Convid-19 induced contraction of demand for oil, gas and chemical products, and a plunge in international oil prices. It booked a net profit of yuan 28.42bn last year.
In H1 Petrochina’s total crude oil output amounted to 475mn barrels, representing an increase of 5.2% compared with last year. The marketable natural gas output reached 2,150bn ft3, up 9.4% yr/yr. The oil and natural gas equivalent output amounted to 834mn barrels, up 7% on last year.
The company said it continued to strengthen cost control, and the oil and gas lifting cost was $9.64/barrel, representing a decrease of 14% year on year. Capital expenditures amounted to yuan 74.76bn H1, representing a decrease of 11%. The estimated capital expenditure for the whole year of 2020 is yuan 228.5bn, a decrease of 23% from 2019.
Petrochina said that in H2, demand for oil and gas was expected to stabilise with the gradual recovery of the Chinese economy, despite Covid-19 restrictions and global economic uncertainty.