China’s Petrochem Industry Shows Better than Expected 2016 Performance

China’s petroleum and chemical industry in 2016 performed better than expected, through overcoming various difficulties, said the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF) at a press conference, held on February 16, 2017.
The number of domestic petroleum and chemical enterprises with annual sales of RMB20 million or above grew to 29 624 at the end of 2016. They posted main business revenue of RMB13.29 trillion for 2016, rising 1.7% from a year earlier, compared with up 1% YoY CPCIF ever forecasted. Total profits were basically the same as 2015, reaching RMB644.44 billion, while CPCIF ever predicted it to decrease 3% YoY.
Fixed-asset investment for 2016 by the domestic petroleum and chemical industry fell 5.9% YoY to RMB2.15 trillion, and the industry generated foreign trade of US$477.82 billion, down 9.2% YoY, with exports declining 6.1% YoY to US$170.87 billion.
Compared with 2015, things got much better: main business revenue for 2015 decreased 6.1% YoY, total profits went down 18.2% YoY, and the foreign trade dropped 22.1% YoY.
The CPCIF released that the Prosperity Index (PI) for the chemical sector rose 1.52 points MoM at 92.38 in December 2016, while the PI for the oil-gas sector reached 94.08, up 7.59 points from November. The two indexes both hit a two-year high.

Petroleum and natural gas exploration and production sector

In the sector, 293 firms boasting annual sales of RMB20 million or above achieved RMB785.49 billion in 2016 main business revenue, down 17.3% YoY, and the sector suffered losses of RMB54.36 billion, versus profits of RMB85.78 billion in 2015. Fixed-asset investment by the sector tumbled 31.9% YoY to RMB233.1 billion.
In 2016, domestic output of crude oil was down 6.9% YoY to 200 million tons, that of natural gas increased 2.2% YoY to 136.83 billion cubic meters, and that of liquefied natural gas soared 29.9% YoY to 6.95 million tons. China imported 381 million tons of crude oil, growing 13.6% YoY, and imported natural gas totaled 75.24 billion cubic meters, boosting 22% YoY.

Refining sector

The number of refining enterprises with annual sales reaching or exceeding RMB20 million was 1 397 at the end of 2016. They saw a decrease of 2% YoY in main business revenue for 2016 to RMB2.88 trillion. However, their combined profits shot up 120.4% YoY to RMB170.36 billion. Fixed-asset investment by the sector improved 7.3% YoY to RMB212.53 billion.
China processed 541 million tons of crude oil in 2016, up 2.8% YoY. The nation’s output of oil products (gasoline, kerosene and diesel) gained 2.5% YoY to 348 million tons. Of that, diesel yield was down 1.3% YoY to 179 million tons, while gasoline production went up 6.4% YoY to 129 million tons. Export volume of oil products jumped 50.2% YoY to 38.2 million tons, valued at US$16.75 billion, increasing 11.6% YoY.

Chemical sector

The number of domestic chemical enterprises enabling annual sales to meet or exceed RMB20 million reached 26 409 at the end of 2016. Main business revenue by the sector totaled RMB9.21 trillion, growing 5.3% YoY; total profits were up 11.7% YoY to RMB507.32 billion. However, fixed-asset investment in the sector fell 0.7% YoY to RMB1.61 trillion, and exports amounted to US$141.3 billion, losing 7.1% YoY.
Fertilizers output (active ingredients) for 2016 declined 4.8% YoY to 70.05 million tons, while that of caustic soda totaled 32.84 million tons. Ethylene output grew 3.9% YoY to 17.81 million tons, and output of synthetic materials reached 142 million tons, up 8% YoY. As for others, the nation’s output of cover tires boosted 8.6% YoY to 947 million pcs.
Exports of rubber products fell 8.1% YoY to US$44.35 billion in 2016. The nation exported 27.86 million tons of fertilizers, down 21.5% YoY, valued at US$6.63 billion, plummeting 39.5% YoY.

Specialized chemical equipment manufacturing sector

In the sector, 1 525 firms with annual sales of RMB20 million or above posted 2016 main business revenue of RMB410.97 billion, decreasing 4.1% YoY. Total profits declined 23.5% YoY to RMB21.12 billion, and fixed-asset investment fell 23.9% YoY to RMB91.75 billion.
China produced 214 000 sets of petroleum drilling equipment in 2016, falling 12.2% YoY, and manufactured 1.87 million tons of refining equipment, down 13.6% YoY.