Oil giants bank downstream profits

摘要

A strong performance downstream helped to boost profits for China’s statecontrolled oil firms PetroChina and Sinopec in the second quarter. But products exports have become a vital avenue of profitability and it is unclear how much they will ship in the remainder of this year. PetroChina increased crude runs by 17pc on the year to 2.96mn b/d in April-June, compared with Sinopec’s more conservative increase of 1.5pc. PetroChina’s domestic crude is heavy and less suitable for producing light products, while Sinopec refineries tend to be on the coast with access to a range of seaborne imports. PetroChina took advantage of stronger jet-kerosine demand, increasing output by 45pc on the year to 209,000 b/d in the first half of 2018. Its diesel output rose by 13pc to 1.06mn b/d, while Sinopec slightly trimmed diesel production to 1.32mn b/d over the same period. But PetroChina’s refining segment outperformed, reporting a $7.56/bl operating profit, compared with Sinopec’s $7.15/bl.