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Bloomberg
China’s biggest oil company said its first-half profits jumped 50% to 60% from a year ago amid a surge in global energy prices.
PetroChina Co.’s preliminary net income rose between 26.5 billion to 32 billion yuan ($3.9 billion to $4.7 billion) from last year, it said in an exchange filing. The company earned 53 billion yuan in the first half last year.
PetroChina is benefiting from oil’s rise, with Brent crude averaging about $105 a barrel from January to June, compared with about $65 in the same period in 2021. Still, the higher international prices likely mean losses for its gas import business, because it has to sell domestically at
regulated rates.
The company also said it increased oil and gas output while focusing on controlling costs.
Improving the oil prices
have helped resuscitate PetroChina’s shares from a record low in late 2020. Still, the company’s performance has lagged the sharp gains of comparable Western majors such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Shell Plc, as shareholders are wary of PetroChina’s tendency to put Chinese government’s needs before theirs.