Pipeline sales drive PetroChina’s 3Q profit

Market: Crude oil, Natural gas, Oil products, Petrochemicals
29/10/20

State-controlled PetroChina's profit surged in the third quarter, as proceeds from the sale of its Chinese pipeline assets helped mask weaker market conditions this year.

PetroChina made a profit of 40.05bn yuan ($5.97bn) for July-September, up more than fourfold from Yn8.83bn a year earlier. The company completed the sale of most of its oil and gas pipelines and some storage facilities to the newly formed PipeChina at the end of the quarter, for which it booked a profit of Yn45.82bn for January-September.

January-September profit fell by 73pc from a year earlier to Yn10.07bn, although this was a sharp recovery from a loss of Yn30bn for January-June.

Crude production rose by 2.7pc to 701.2mn bl (2.56mn b/d) during January-September, driven mainly by gains in PetroChina's overseas fields. Total upstream production was up by 4.3pc to 1.21bn bl of oil equivalent (442,000 boe/d).

Lower oil and gas prices pushed operating profit in the firm's exploration and production segment down by 74pc to Yn20bn during January-September, although profit rebounded for July-September after a loss in the previous quarter.

PetroChina's refining and chemicals operations fell to a loss of Yn1.67bn during January-September from a Yn9bn profit in the same period last year, hit by a fall in demand, prices and margins. Output of all refined products fell, although petrochemical yields rose. Performance picked up in the latest quarter as markets strengthened.

PetroChina (mn b/d)
	Jan-Jun 2020	Jan-Jun 2019	Jul-Sep 2020	Jul-Sep 2019

Crude throughputs	3.12	3.30	3.36	3.35
Gasoline output	1.02	1.15	1.11	1.15
Diesel output	1.06	1.08	1.06	1.14
Jet-kerosine output	0.18	0.26	0.25	0.29
Source: PetroChina, Argus calculations

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W Australia's gas surplus outlook strengthens: Aemo

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Energy Transfer halts plans for Lake Charles LNG

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US House passes bill to expedite permitting

18/12/25

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Washington, 18 December (Argus) — The US House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill designed to fast-track permitting for energy projects and reduce related litigation risks. But a last-minute change Republicans made to exclude some offshore wind and solar projects led some Democrats and a major clean energy group to withdraw support, complicating the bill's chances of passage in the Senate. The Republican-controlled House voted 221-196 to pass the SPEED Act, with 11 Democrats crossing the aisle to vote for what would be the most significant changes to federal permitting in years. The bill will now advance to the US Senate, where proponents will likely need to agree to make significant changes if they hope to pick up the votes of at least seven Democrats to avoid a filibuster. The bill "finally brings common sense by cutting red tape that dramatically increases the cost and, in some cases, just makes it economically unfeasible to do projects", House Republican majority leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) said. The SPEED Act focuses on revising project reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which is a source of delay and litigation risk for pipelines and renewable projects alike. The bill would require federal agencies to narrow those reviews and uphold those decisions even if federal courts find them to be inadequate. The bill would also provide permit "certainty" by limiting the government's ability to rescind prior approvals, averting a repeat of events like the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. "We applaud the House for advancing the SPEED Act, a bipartisan, commonsense step toward fixing a federal permitting system that's long been broken," oil industry group the American Petroleum Institute said. Republican leaders were hoping 30-40 Democrats would join them to support the SPEED Act. The bill had broad bipartisan support when it was drafted because of provisions meant to prevent permitting delays that have plagued both oil and gas pipelines and renewable energy development. But Republican leaders, to satisfy far-right conservatives, made a change to the bill earlier this week that would prevent its expedited permitting procedures from benefiting any project that Trump's administration has blocked or revisited since 20 January. The Trump administration has targeted multiple offshore wind and solar projects this year and has ordered the developer of the nearly complete 704MW Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island to stop construction. That change fractured a bipartisan coalition that had spent months working on technology-neutral permitting language. The American Clean Power Association, the largest industry group for US renewable energy, on Wednesday withdrew its support of the bill , arguing the "poison pill amendment" that Republicans made eviscerated bipartisan language that gave expedited permitting treatment for all types of energy resources. A number of House Democrats who had backed the bill also withdrew their support. American Clean Power plans to work with both parties in the Senate to make changes. "This is not the final draft," representative Scott Peters (D-California) said during floor debate Thursday, vowing to work with his colleagues in the Senate to address House Democrats' concerns. By Chris Knight and Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Pipeline sales drive PetroChina’s 3Q profit

Related news posts

Mexico central bank cuts target rate to 7pc

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Viewpoint: Bitumen markets eye pockets of demand

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