28 October 2009, Beijing — In the first three quarters of 2009, adhering to the guiding principles of market orientation and efficiency, PetroChina Company Limited ("PetroChina" or “the Company", HKSE: 0857; NYSE: PTR; SSE: 601857) improved quality of growth and achieved better-than-expected overall operating results. The Company actively responded to changes in the national and international economic environment and continued to follow its scientifically-formulated production and operational plans. PetroChina thereby achieved safe and stable operations and production, and reaped the benefits of tighter management of investments, reduced costs and improved efficiencies.
In the third quarter of 2009, profit attributable to the owners of the Company under IFRS was RMB30.847 billion, with basic earnings per share of RMB0.17. According to Chinese Accounting Standards, net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company was RMB30.823 billion, with basic earnings per share of RMB0.17.
In the Exploration and Production operations, the Company continued to place emphasis on resources as a strategy and strengthen the exploration of oil and gas. The Company formulated and implemented optimal plans for oil and gas exploration, intensified integrated geologic research programs and endeavored to discover more substantial and high quality reserves. The Company meticulously organized production, construction and operations in the exploration of oil and gas fields. Efforts were made to exploit oil production potential and undertake secondary development at mature oilfields. The Company persisted in conducting overall development of new oilfields and raising single-well production through deployment of advanced technologies. The Company prioritized efficiency and made balanced adjustments to crude oil production and construction plans for production capacity, thereby achieving stable production of crude oil and a rapid increase in the output of natural gas in the domestic market. In the first three q
uarters of 2009, the Company produced 631 million barrels of crude oil, representing a decrease of 3.7% from the same period of last year, and produced 1,524.8 billion cubic feet of marketable natural gas, representing a year-on-year increase of 11.3%.
The Refining and Chemicals operations continued to push forward the overall optimization of resources and to intensify production management. Taking a market-oriented approach, the Company scientifically arranged the processing workloads, pursued quality enhancement of oil products, increased the production of high value-added products, endeavored to lower costs and expenses, and achieved safe and steady operation of production facilities. In the first three quarters of 2009, the Company processed 607 million barrels of crude oil, representing a decrease of 5.5% from the same period of last year, and produced 53.91 million tons of gasoline, diesel and kerosene, representing a year-on-year decrease of 3%. The Company also produced 2.049 million tons of ethylene, representing a year-on-year increase of 3.4%.
Significant progress was made in respect of construction of refining bases and key projects. The construction of the ten-million-ton refining facility and the one-million-ton ethylene facility at Dushanzi Petrochemical were fully completed. The Company also made progress as scheduled in the construction of key projects such as the Guangxi Petrochemical project and the Tarim Petrochemical project.
In the Marketing and Sales operations, the Company actively responded to market changes with flexible and effective marketing strategies and optimized the dispatch and transmission network. The Company also actively developed its base of customers with high efficiency and usage, and strengthened its end user sales in order to increase total sales and improve efficiency. Moreover, the Company accelerated the expansion of marketing networks and the construction of storage facilities. As a result, operational efficiency was further enhanced. In the first three quarters of 2009, the Company sold 73.17 million tons of gasoline, diesel and kerosene, representing an increase of 4.7% from the same period of last year.
In the Natural Gas and Pipeline operations, the Company proactively proceeded with the construction of strategically important oil and gas pipelines. Construction of key projects, including the Second West-East Gas Pipeline, the Sebei-Xining-Lanzhou Double Gas Pipeline, the expansion of the Second Shaanxi-Beijing Gas Pipeline, and the Dalian and Jiangsu LNG projects, further progressed. Natural gas sales maintained rapid growth. The Company strengthened the balance of production, transportation, marketing and storage by scientifically organizing and integrating the dispatch of natural gas. It also adopted flexible marketing strategies to promote sales and improve sales efficiency. As a result, management and operational standards were further raised.
The Company made use of the favorable environment brought about by the lower international crude oil price to actively pursue overseas oil and gas co-operation. The scale of operations continued to expand, and faster growth in the overseas oil and gas business was achieved. Contribution from international operations to the profit of the Company steadily increased.
Looking forward to the fourth quarter, PetroChina will actively respond to national and international economic changes, organize its activities in a scientific manner, enhance coordination and optimize resources allocation in order to fulfill its production and operational targets, and further consolidate the foundation for future development. The Company aims to establish solid preparation for a favorable year in 2010 across all aspects of its business, and hence maximize returns to its shareholders, society and staff through strong achievements.
###
Additional information on PetroChina is available at the Company’s website: http://www.petrochina.com.cn
Issued by PetroChina Company Limited
For further information, please contact:
PetroChina Company Limited
Hong Kong:
Mao Zefeng, Assistant Secretary to the Board of Directors
Fax: (852) 2899 2390
E-mail: hko@petrochina.com.hk
Tel: (852) 2899 2010
Public Relations Office:
Yuan Xinxiang
Fax: (8610) 6209 9558
E-mail: yuanxx@petrochina.comm.cn
Tel: (8610) 5998 6037
PR Agency (Overseas media):
Fax: (852) 2576 3551
Hill & Knowlton Asia Ltd.
Shirley Lo
E-mail:shirley.lo@hillandknowlton.com.hk
Tel: (852) 2894 6214
PR Agency (Domestic media):
Fax: (8610) 6553 6211
EverBloom Investment Consulting
E-mail: bin.he@everbloom.com.cn
He Bin
Tel: (8610) 6553 6235