PetroChina first-quarter profit flat

SINGAPORE, Apr 29 (Reuters): PetroChina said on Monday its first-quarter net profit edged up 1 per cent from a year earlier as a weaker refined fuel business offset strong growth at its exploration and production segment.

The state-controlled giant, Asia's largest oil and gas producer, said net profit in the January-March period was 10.255 billion yuan ($1.52 billion), versus 10.15 billion a year ago.

Total revenue grew 8.9 per cent during the period to 591 billion yuan, the firm said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It is still the lowest quarterly revenue since the second-quarter of 2018.

PetroChina's crude oil production rose 4.6 per cent during the period to 223.4 million barrels, and output of natural gas expanded 8.9 per cent to 999.9 billion cubic feet. Its dominant exploration and production business reaped in operating profit of 14.33 billion yuan in the first three months of the year, up 47 per cent over a year earlier.

The group's crude oil throughput rose 3.3 per cent to 291.6 million barrels, or 3.24 million barrels per day.

The state firm has for years suffered heavy losses in the gas import business because the cost of gas imports often exceeds the government-capped domestic prices.