The FINANCIAL — PetroChina Company Limited on October 29 announced that the Company continued to report operational profits in the first three quarters of 2015, amid an adverse environment marked by an increasing downward pressure on the domestic economy, sluggish market demand for oil and gas, and global oil prices hovering at low levels.
The Company achieved this by focusing on improving quality and profitability; further expanding revenue sources, reducing expenditures and costs and raising profitability; emphasizing balanced operations of production, refining, transport, marketing, storage and trading; and actively promoting reform and innovation. The Company carried out production and operations in an orderly manner, made steady progress on key projects, and its efforts in work safety and environmental protection remained on track.
For the first three quarters of 2015, based on International Financing Reporting Standards, the Company recorded turnover of RMB1,305.105 billion representing a decrease of 25.6% over the same period in 2014. Net profit attributable to the shareholders of the Company reached RMB30.601 billion, and basic earnings per share were RMB0.17, both representing a decrease of 68.1% over the same period of 2014, according to PetroChina.
Exploration and Production
The Company made steady progress in oil and gas exploration, and maintained stable growth in oil and gas production. For the first three quarters of 2015, the Company recorded crude oil output of 722.90 million barrels, representing an increase of 3.3% compared with the same period in 2014. Its oil and natural gas equivalent output reached 1,104.50 million barrels, representing an increase of 3.6% compared with the same period in 2014. The oil and natural gas equivalent output from overseas operations reached 143.60 million barrels, representing an increase of 41.2% compared with the same period in 2014. For the first three quarters of 2015, the Company carried out vigorous efforts to cut costs and to enhance its profitability of its Exploration and Production segment, to counter plunging crude oil prices. This segment recorded RMB46,513 million in profit from operations, representing a decrease of 68.1% compared with the same period in 2014.
Refining and Chemicals
The Company adhered to the principle of market-orientation and profitability, made optimal arrangements for its processing load, proactively optimized its product mix and reinforced cost management. As a result, it remained profitable and further enhanced its efficiency. In the first three quarters of 2015, the Company processed 741.70 million barrels of crude oil, representing a decrease of 0.6% compared with the same period in 2014. A total of 68.802 million tons of gasoline, diesel and kerosene were produced, representing an increase of 1.2% compared with the same period in 2014. In the first three quarters of 2015, the Refining and Chemicals segment achieved a turnaround with a profit from operations of RMB3,059 million, representing an improvement of RMB11,814 million over the same period in 2014. The refining operations generated RMB1,661 million in profit from operations, representing a decrease of 35.3% compared with the same period in 2014. The chemicals operations achieved a turnaround and recorded a profit from operations of RMB1,398 million, representing an improvement of RMB12,720 million compared with the same period in 2014
Marketing
The Company adjusted its marketing strategy in a flexible manner, endeavored to expand sales and reduce inventory, actively optimized its sales structure, and focused on resources allocation in profitable markets. For its international trading business, the Company fully deployed its resources allocation function. In the first three quarters of 2015, the Company sold 119.298 million tons of gasoline, diesel and kerosene, representing an increase of 1.5% compared with the same period last year. In the first three quarters of 2015, due to the impact caused by the plunge in refined product prices, the slowing growth in demand, the Marketing segment incurred an operating loss of RMB978 million.
Natural Gas and Pipeline
The Company coordinated and optimized the utilization of domestic and imported gas resources for its natural gas business, implemented a proactive marketing strategy, and explored high-end and high-profit markets, which resulted in a steady increase in profitability. In the first three quarters of 2015, profit from operations for the natural gas and pipeline segment reached RMB25,384 million, representing an increase of 174.9% compared with the same period last year. In the first three quarters of 2015, the Natural Gas and Pipeline segment recorded a net loss of RMB11,771 million on the sales of imported natural gas and LNG, narrowing the loss by RMB16,616 million compared with the same period in 2014.
Outlook
In the fourth quarter of 2015, global oil prices will languish at low levels with volatility, and challenges in the domestic oil and gas market, including oversupply and a mismatch between gas production and sales, will remain unchanged. The Company will adhere to the principle of steady development and carry out production and operations in a finely organized manner for the fourth quarter. The Company will further increase its revenue sources, reduce costs and improve profitability, focus on the construction of key projects, and steadily push forward enterprise reforms. By implementing these active measures, the Company will strive to overcome the current challenges and meet its production and operations targets for the year.
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