State-owned PetroChina posted a net income of CNY22.09 billion ($3.45 billion) in the July-September quarter of 2021. That beat analysts’ estimate of CNY15.8 billion but was 45% lower than a record CNY40.05 billion in the same quarter in 2020. For the first nine months of the year, PetroChina’s net income stood at CNY75.1 billion ($11.73 billion), a jump of more than sevenfold from a year earlier thanks to the rally in oil and gas prices.
PetroChina’s exploration and production unit achieved an operating profit of CNY58.369 billion ($9.12 billion) in the first nine months, representing a rise of 191.8% year-on-year. The company pumped 662.3 million barrels of crude oil in the period, a drop of 5.6% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, natural gas output rose 6.5% to 3,281 Bcf.
The refining and chemicals division posted an operating profit of CNY31.90 billion ($4.98 billion) in January-September, an increase of CNY33.658 billion from a year earlier. Within which, the chemicals operation generated an operating profit of CNY11.857 billion ($1.85), its best performance on record. PetroChina processed 912 million barrels of crude oil in the first nine months, an increase of 3.9% from a year earlier. It produces 81.327 million tons of gasoline, diesel, and kerosene, rising 1.4% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, chemical output grew 5.5% year-on-year to 22.695 million tons.
The marketing business registered an operating profit of CNY8.776 billion ($1.37 billion) in January-September, increasing by CNY13.712 billion from a year earlier. Over the period, the firm sold 198.7 Bcf of gas, a 14% gain from a year earlier. The bulk of it was domestic sales at 138 Bcm, representing 16% year-on-year growth.
