Competition is increasing in China’s refning sector, with little let-up in investment in new plants. But state-controlled PetroChina and Sinopec have a near monopoly on overseas sales and more sophisticated complexes, positioning them to market product supplies abroad. Both companies’ upstream arms are now back in the black, after Sinopec made a small proft in the frst quarter (see table). PetroChina’s upstream segment has been proftable since October-December 2016, while Sinopec reported deep losses until the end of last year. The downstream became a key source of proftability for the frms in early 2015, following the collapse in crude prices, fostering sustained investment in refning and petrochemical projects.
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