PetroChina H1 profit up 55% on strong crude; chemical earnings shrink

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–State-owned energy and petrochemical firm PetroChina posted a 55% year-on-year increase in its first-half 2022 net profit, thanks to spikes in crude oil prices.

CNY million	H1 2022	H1 2021	change
Revenue	1,614,621	1,196,581	34.9%
Operating expenses	-1,495,606	-1,108,118	35.0%
Profit from operations	119,015	88,463	34.5%
Profit attributable to owners	82,391	53,037	55.3%

KEY POINTS:

– H1 domestic chemical demand slowed down, while chemical firms experienced margin squeeze and lowered operating rates amid significant rise on feedstock cost.

– Profit from its chemical segment for the period slumped 99% to CNY88m ($13m).

– Ethylene production in January-June 2022 expanded 23.7% year on year to 3.8m tonnes.

– Oil and gas production increased 3.1% over the period to 845m barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

H2 OUTLOOK

– Global economy faces downward pressure due to factors such as high inflation, interests rates hikes and geopolitical tensions.

– China economy expected to continue rebound; growth expected to be reasonable.

– PetroChina to run ethane cracker, fertilizer, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and other chemical facilities at full capacity. It plans to increase proportion of high-end special materials and increase production of high value-added chemical products, to improve profitability of its chemical business.

($1 = CNY6.85)

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