China’s oil refiners posted a loss of US$22 billion in the first 11 months of 2008 as the impact of higher raw materials costs took its toll, Bloomberg reported. This compared to a profit of US$1.58 billion for the same period a year earlier. According to the Ministry on Industry and Information Technology, China had an energy shortage in the first half, though fuel supplies became ample in the second half as the economy slowed. Fuel stockpiles at China Petrochemical Corp, also known as Sinopec, and China National Petroleum Corp, also known as PetroChina, rose to a record high at the end of 2008, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a separate statement. Sinopec has said it expects 2008 profit to drop more than 50% due to higher crude oil costs in the first six months. The country’s oil and gas explorers, of which PetroChina is the largest, posted a profit of US$66.8 billion in the first 11 months of 2008.
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