Kunlun Energy Reports Stable 1H Net Profit
Kunlun Energy, the natural gas distribution unit of PetroChina, reported August 23 a net profit of yuan 2.42bn ($363.5mn) during the first half of 2017, little changed from yuan 2.41bn in the same period last year.
First half revenue was up 19.1% year on year at yuan 40bn.
During the first half of the year, the transmission volume of natural gas by the pipeline business was 20.16bn metres3, an increase of 14.76% compared with the same period of last year. The transmission volume of PetroChina Beijing Gas Pipeline Co under the Group was 18.73bn m3, representing an increase of 12.74% compared with the same period of last year.
Natural gas sales volumes were 13.38bn m3, up 14.29% year on year. The sales volume for the city gas business was 5.43bn m3, representing an increase of 18.34% compared with the same period of last year.
LNG sales volume was 2.1bn m3, representing an increase of 51.98% compared with the same period of last year. Seven plants commenced operation during the six-month period and operated for a total of 902 days, with the average utilisation rate increasing by 42% compared with the same period of last year. The company continued to strengthen its development of the LNG vehicle market in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, and developed a total of 26,000 LNG vehicles.
During 1H, the LNG gasification volume of the Jiangsu LNG and Dalian LNG terminals amounted to 2.85bn m3, up 70.93% on year.
Kunlun expects international oil prices to remain volatile in the second half of the year and to stabilise and rebound in the coming years. Excessive supply in the international gas market, as well as the progress of the country's gas market reform, will help China maintain its growth momentum for LNG imports, it said.
During the period, the sales volume of crude oil in the exploration and production business was 6.35mn barrels, down 21.99% year on year. The average realised crude oil selling price increased to $45.55/b for 1H 2017 from $29.26/b during the same period of last year.
Shardul Sharma