CNPC posts 52% decline in profit

HONG KONG (Bloomberg) -- China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), the country’s biggest oil and gas producer and the parent of PetroChina Co., said profit fell 52% as lower oil prices punished global explorers.

Profit last year fell to 82.5 billion yuan ($12.7 billion), the Beijing-based company said in a statement on its website Wednesday. The unlisted, state-owned company didn’t specify whether the profit is pretax, gross or net. Revenue fell 26% to 2 trillion yuan, while oil and gas output rose 1.8% to 259.5 million metric tons, it said.

“We properly dealt with all the risks and challenges and steered the company from the model of chasing speedy expansion to a model focusing more on quality growth,” Chairman Wang Yilin said in the statement.

CNPC owns oil and gas assets in politically unstable areas, including Sudan, and controls 86% of the listed company. PetroChina’s net profit tumbled 67% to 35.5 billion yuan in 2015, the lowest since 1999, the company said last month. Brent crude averaged $54/bbl last year, from $99 the year before.

CNPC’s proved oil reserves reached 730 million tons and natural gas reserves were 570 Bcm at the end of last year. Total pipeline length reached 80,000 km (49,720 mi). The company employs 1.52 million people.

Wang said last month the company won’t cut frontline oil and gas workers as it seeks to reduce costs to cope with low energy prices. CNPC was also said to be among the few state-owned companies selected for reform to become a strategic holding company.

Domestic crude production reached 111.4 million tons (about 2.24 MMbpd), accounting for 52% of the country’s total, according to the company. Domestic natural gas output reached 96.5 Bcm, about 73% of the nation’s total.

CNPC sold 116.3 million tons of oil products last year, 40% of the country’s market share. Domestic natural gas sales rose 2.6% to 122.6 Bcm.