PetroChina profit slumps 26%, plans acquisitions

PetroChina (PTR.NYSE, 601852.SH, 0857.HKG), the world’s largest listed crude producer, reported fourth-quarter profit fell 26% to RMB29.6 billion (US$4.7 billion), below Bloomberg analyst mean estimates of US$5.61 billion, after it recorded losses from selling fuel at fixed government prices, Bloomberg reported. The price of crude oil rose at almost triple the pace of domestic fuel prices last year. “PetroChina still lives in the mercy of government policy changes in the refining sector,” said Simon Powell, head of Asian Oil and Gas Research at CLSA. To help offset the losses, the company plans to invest at least US$60 billion in acquiring overseas assets over the next decade, said PetroChina Chairman Jiang Jiemin. “In five to eight years, our overseas business will acount for about 50% of the company’s oil and gas production, reserves, revenue and profit,” said Jiang. The company’s overseas fuel production increased 18% year-on-year in the quarter, five times faster than the growth in domestic production.