Oil firms to report fat profits

China's largest oil companies are projected to release record-level profits for the first half of 2004. Analysts said that the big profits stem from high oil prices in addition to large and growing demand for fuels in China. PetroChina profits are expected to increase 12.3% to RMB 43.39 billion (US$5.23 billion), according to a South China Morning Post report. PetroChina oil production increased by 0.5% and prices rose 5.98% in the first half. Gas production grew by 17.4% and prices rose by 3.08% for the company. Sinopec, which has a larger refining business and smaller oil production business than PetroChina, is expected to report a 49.1% profit growth, to RMB 15.9 billion. Offshore fuel producer CNOOC is expected to report profit increases of 10.5% to RMB 7 billion.