PetroChina Co.’s annual profits rose to a record as a rebound in natural gas demand helped the Chinese energy major offset the impact of falling oil prices, reports Bloomberg. The country’s biggest oil and gas producer’s net income rose to RMB 161 billion ($22 billion) last year, the company said in an exchange filing Monday. It posted RMB 149 billion in profits in 2022, a record at the time.
The state-owned company was buoyed by China’s exit from pandemic lockdowns, as fuel demand rebounded on increased travel and factories returning to more normal operations. Natural gas consumption rose 7.6% last year after falling in 2022 for the first time in decades, a boon for PetroChina, which supplies the vast majority of the nation’s gas.
The rebound in gas demand was aided by government policies that allowed regulated prices to increase. The company’s gas unit made RMB 43 billion in profits in 2023, up from RMB 13 billion in 2022.