PetroChina's 3Q Profit Spikes
Chinese state-owned PetroChina October 30 reported a 350% year-on-year increase in net profit for the quarter that ended September 30 thanks to higher oil and gas prices.
The company’s net profit during 3Q 2018 was yuan 21.04bn ($3.02bn) compared with 4.69bn in the same quarter last year. For the nine month period, PetroChina’s net profit was yuan 48.12bn, up 177% year-on-year.
During 9M 2018, PetroChina’s crude oil output was 663.3mn barrels, representing an increase of 0.5% as compared with the same period of last year. The marketable natural gas output was 2,661.6bn ft3, up 4.8% as compared with the same period of 2017. The company did not provide quarterly output figures.
During 9M 2018, the average realised oil price was $67.93/barrel, representing an increase of 39.3% as compared with the same period of last year, of which the domestic realised price was $66.69/barrel, PetroChina said. The average realised price for natural gas was $5.72/’000 ft3, up 13% year-on-year, of which the domestic realised price was $5.90/’000 ft3.
Commenting on the outlook for the full year, PetroChina said, “Net profit attributable to equity holders of the company for 2018 is expected to increase substantially as compared with the same period of last year.”
The company expects the global oil market to be tightly balanced in 4Q 2018, with a possibility of demand exceeding supply in a short period.