Sinopec's 2023 net income falls 9.9% in 'complicated environment'

March 24 (Reuters) - China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, known as Sinopec, reported a 9.9% decline in 2023 net profit on Sunday, weighed by falling oil and gas prices but supported by recovering fuel demand.

The world's largest oil refiner by capacity posted net income of 60.5 billion yuan ($8.37 billion), based on Chinese accounting standards, in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange.

Sinopec faced a "complicated operating environment and intense competition" last year, it said in a statement to Reuters.

That was slightly worse than 2022, when the company recorded a 6.9% decline in net income as COVID-19 curbs hit fuel and chemicals demand.

Aviation fuel and gasoline, however, led a post-pandemic demand recovery last year as passenger air traffic surged and people drove more in China.

The state oil and gas major's gasoline sales rose 14.3% and diesel 6.4%. Aviation fuel sales expanded by 49.5%.

The figures include sales into the domestic market as well as exports. Refiners in 2023 cashed in robust export profits with strong growth in overseas shipments of diesel and jet fuel.

Refinery throughput rose 6.3% last year to a record 257.52 million metric tons, or about 5.15 million barrels per day. The company forecast a rise to 260 million tons this year.

Sinopec expects its crude oil production to dip to 279.06 million barrels this year from 280.23 million barrels in 2023, while natural gas rises to 1,380 billion cubic feet from 1,292 billion cubic feet. Its petrochemical business, however, remained lacklustre with sales of chemical fibres and plastics down 1.8%.

Sinopec plans capital spending of 173 billion yuan this year to cover key investments such as exploration and development, down from 176.8 billion yuan last year.

(Reporting by Colleen Howe, Qiaoyi Li and Andrew Hayley in Beijing and Chen Aizhu in Singapore; Editing by William Mallard and Christian Schmollinger)