Big squeeze hits Chinese oil giant PetroChina
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008PetroChina is expected to report that its first-half net profit fell by at least a third, analysts say, as losses in its refining business eroded gains from surging crude oil prices.
Even last year when PetroChina’s market value briefly topped $1 trillion by some calculations trouble was brewing at the traded unit of the country’s leading oil and gas producer.
While other global oil giants are reporting record profits, Chinese government price controls prevent PetroChina and other domestic refiners from passing on higher costs for crude oil to consumers. So their refining operations are bearing heavy losses, despite billions of dollars in subsidies.