Stable Financial Performance of Petroleum & Chemical Industries in July

China’s petroleum and chemical industries performed soundly in July, with bigger industry-wide profits. Production of oil, gas and major chemicals accelerated, while supply and demand were balanced.
Main business revenue of the petroleum and chemical industries amounted to RMB8 420 billion in January-July, up 16.5% YoY, but growth was 1.2 percentage points lower than that of January-June.
Core business revenue of the chemical industry was RMB5 770 billion, up 15.2% YoY, one percentage point less than the January-June average, while that of the oil refining industry totaled RMB1 910 billion, up 20.3% YoY, 1.1 percentage points less than the January-June average. Core business revenue of the oil and gas exploration industry totaled RMB517.49 billion, up 22.1% YoY, which was 2.6 percentage points lower than the January-June average.
Synthetic materials, basic chemical raw materials and specialty chemicals continued to lead the increase in core business revenue, registering increases of 23.3%, 17.7% and 15.1% respectively. Main business revenues of the rubber products and coatings (pigments) sectors were up by 9.5% and 9.4% YoY respectively, while those of the fertilizer and pesticide industries rose by 9.2% and 10.3% respectively.
The industries’ combined business climate index dropped further in July. According to China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, the business climate index of China’s chemical sector was 93.31 in July, down 1.23 points from June, while that of the oil and gas sector was 93.83, down 1.15 points from June.
China’s crude oil and natural gas output during January-July totaled 190 million tons (oil equivalent), up 0.3% YoY, the first positive figure in more than a year. Domestic output of major chemicals was up 2.6%, 0.3 percentage points higher than the January-June average.
China produced 16.249 million tons of crude oil in July, down 2.9% YoY, 0.6 percentage points higher than June. Domestic natural gas output was 11.74 billion cubic meters (including CMB), up 14.8% YoY.
Processed crude oil amounted to 45.497 million tons, up 0.4% YoY. The output of finished oil products (gasoline, coal and diesel) totaled 28.807 million tons, (up 0.1% YoY), including 14.765 million tons of diesel (down 0.3% YoY) and 10.583 million tons of gasoline (up 0.4% YoY).
Domestic ethylene output reached 1.483 million tons in July, up 0.9% YoY; methanol, 3.799 million tons, up 13.2%; coatings, 1.77 million tons, up 6.0% and synthetic resins, 7.14 million tons, up 2.6%.