Page 7 - AsianOil Week 35

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Pandemic decimates

results of China’s Big Three

PERFORMANCE CHINA’S Big Three oil companies have each
seen their bottom lines ravaged by the COVID-
19 pandemic, which has sent global oil and gas
demand into a spin.
State-run Sinopec posted on September 1 a
first-half net loss of CNY21.7bn ($3.17bn), its
first half-yearly loss since it listed in Hong Kong
in 2000.
The company’s refining business racked up a
CNY31.69bn ($4.63bn) operating loss, as against
a CNY19.09bn ($2.79bn) profit a year earlier.
Refinery throughput fell by 10.5% year on year
to 110.95mn tonnes (4.47mn barrels per day),
owing to a decline in domestic fuel demand. The
company’s oil product output shrank by 14.9%
y/y to 67.19mn tonnes.
Sinopec’s upstream division reported a oil price collapse as well as lower oil and gas
CNY6bn loss ($877.6mn), compared with a demand. The company recorded a CNY28.42bn
CNY6.24bn (912.7mn) profit in the same period ($4.16bn) profit in the first half of 2019. The
of 2019. The company produced 140.27mn bar- company’s revenue, meanwhile, slid by 22% y/y
rels of crude oil in the period, down 1% y/y, to CNY929bn ($135.87bn). Its first-half capex
while natural gas output expanded by 0.6% y/y shrank by 11% y/y to CNY74.8bn ($10.94bn).
to 512.41bn cubic feet (14.51bn cubic metres). PetroChina’s first-half crude production rose
Domestic crude production was flat at 124.05mn by 5.2% y/y to 475.4mn barrels, while its gas
barrels, while overseas output slid by 8% y/y to output jumped 9.4% to 2.15 trillion cubic feet
16.22mn barrels. (60.89 bcm). The company’s refinery throughput
Its first-half capital expenditure climbed slipped 4.9% to 568mn barrels.
to CNY45bn ($6.58bn) from CNY42.88bn CNOOC Ltd announced on August 19
($6.27bn) a year earlier. that its net profit had tumbled 65.7% y/y to
Sinopec projects it will produce 138mn bar- CNY10.38bn ($1.52bn). Revenue, meanwhile,
rels of crude in the second half as well 580.5 bcf crashed by 31.8% y/y to CNY74.56bn ($10.9bn).
(16.44 bcm) of gas. Crude processing is expected The company’s oil and gas production
to rebound to 130mn tonnes (5.18mn bpd). climbed by 6.1% y/y to a record high of 257.9mn
PetroChina, meanwhile, announced on barrels of oil equivalent, with domestic produc-
August 27 that it had racked up a CNY29.98bn tion climbing 11.5% to 173.9mn boe, while over-
($4.38bn) net loss in the first half, owing to the seas output shrank by 3.5% to 83.9mn boe.™

PetroChina, Ovintiv terminate

Duvernay joint venture

PROJECTS & STATE-RUN PetroChina and independent The transaction results in both sides tak-
COMPANIES Ovintiv have terminated their eight-year old ing sole ownership of around 13,000 barrels of
joint venture that operates assets in the liq- oil equivalent per day (boepd) of production,
uid-rich Duvernay shale gas play in Alberta though PCC has said it will subcontract opera-
Province. torship on its lands to Ovintiv until it can staff up
The two companies said on September 1 that its own operating team.
the acreage would be split in line with their pre- Ovintiv – which was formerly known as
vious holdings, with Ovintiv previously owning Encana – said it would have a consolidated inter-
50.1% of the licence and PetroChina Canada est in around 250,000 net acres (1,012 square
(PCC) holding the remainder. km) of the play. The independent added that

Week 35 03•September•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P7