PetroChina (601857. SS) reported a 55% jump in profit during the first half of 2022, boosted by an increase of its oil and gas output and higher energy prices, as Western sanctions on Russia intensified tight supply worries.
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the listed firm of Asia’s top oil and gas producer, reported an interim profit of 82.39 billion yuan ($12 billion), compared with 53.04 billion yuan a year ago, according to a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
That was slightly below analysts’ forecast of 84.91 billion yuan. Revenue during the first half of this year was up 35% at 1.614 trillion yuan.
PetroChina also disclosed a 3.1% increase in oil and gas output to 845 million barrels of oil equivalent; in response to Beijing’s order to enhance domestic energy supply amid an increasingly complex geopolitical environment.
The benchmark Brent oil price spiked to a 13-year high of over $130 a barrel in early March on the prospect of supply disruption; after Russia invaded Ukraine and Western countries vowed to enforce an embargo on Russian oil.