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Energy: Refineries sink deeper in the red

By Wan Zhihong (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-22 09:08

CNOOC results

Not exposed to the country's loss-making refining sector, China National Offshore Oil Corp's (CNOOC) first-half net profit climbed 35 percent.

CNOOC made a net profit of 18.95 billion yuan on earnings of 106.33 billion yuan, the company said on its website.

Benchmark oil prices in New York have gained 73 percent in the past year and touched a record $147.27 a barrel on July 11. CNOOC's listed unit, CNOOC Ltd, plans to increase capital spending by 44 percent this year to expand oil and gas output by as much as 18 percent and help meet energy demand in the world's fastest-growing major economy.

"The big jump in the sales of CNOOC's parent is attributed to the output gain amid soaring crude prices," Wang Aochao, an oil analyst with UOB-Kay Hian Ltd, said yesterday. CNOOC's first-half profit and output gains were probably similar to the parent's, Wang said.

"The market should feel comfortable with the net income gain of CNOOC in the first half," Wang said. "We expect full-year profit to rise roughly 50 percent."

In the first quarter, CNOOC's crude and gas production from fields including overseas areas rose 5 percent to the equivalent of 496,753 barrels of oil a day. CNOOC must step up exploration and output in the second half to achieve its target increase for 2008, Wang said.

Agencies contributed to the story.

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