April 29, 2016 [OPIS] - Sinopec, the largest integrated oil company in China, said on Thursday that it reduced refinery production as well as crude output in the first quarter.
Sinopec raised output of gasoline and kerosene to cater to higher demand for both products, and cut diesel production.
In the first quarter, Sinopec’s refinery throughput decreased by 2.4% and refined oil products production dropped by 1.4%, with gasoline up by 4.7%, jet fuel up by 4.5% and diesel down by 8% over the same period last year.
Benefiting from product mix optimization and the refined oil product pricing mechanism improvement, Refining Segment had an operating profit of RMB 13.44 billion ($2.07 billion), a reversal from the loss-making situation in the same period last year.
In the first quarter, the oil and gas production of the company was 114.7 million barrels of oil equivalent, declining by 2.7%, out of which crude oil output was down by 9.3%, while natural gas up by 16.7%, compared with the same period last year. Impacted by the sustained low crude oil prices, Exploration and Production Segment had an operating loss of RMB 12.53 billion.
In accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the company’s operating profit was RMB 13.06 billion, up by 153.4% year on year. Profit for the period was RMB 9.56 billion, an increased of 267.7% year on year. Net profit attributable to owners of the company was RMB 6.66 billion, up by 206.8% year on year.
The company’s financial position continued to improve during the first quarter. In accordance with IFRS, the company’s net cash flow from operating activities was RMB 34.35 billion, an increase of 414.0% year on year.
OPIS reported in January that Sinopec had emerged as a major crude player in the Caribbean after picking up 10 million bbl of storage at St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Sinopec is expected to take over some of these crude storage tanks in May.
The storage lease at St. Croix represents the first for Sinopec and Unipec, the oil trading arm of Sinopec, in the Caribbean. Sinopec has an oil products and crude trading presence in the U.S. markets via Unipec. Unipec is focused on Asian and Chinese physical oil markets, but it has made a move to connect the dots around the world in the past few years.
