Singapore—China’s state-controlled Petro-China posted modest first-quarter production gains, but saw profitability in its refining and gas segments improve significantly due to the government’s energy price reforms. The company’s refining operations recorded a profit of Yuan 2 billion, up from a loss of Yuan 1.6 billion in Q1 2013, it said Thursday. This was the third consecutive quarter that PetroChina’s refining segment was in the black—a consequence of timely retail gasoline and diesel price adjustments by the government after the existing pricing mechanism was introduced in March last year. Under this mechanism, Beijing adjusts domestic retail prices every 10 days based on international crude price markets.
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