CNPC eyes output rise in 23b yuan expansion
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the nation's second-largest oil refiner and parent of listed PetroChina, aims to raise its oil refining volume 5.26 per cent this year and spend 23.4 billion yuan to expand its processing capacity and related facilities.
The company planned to refine 122.1 million tonnes this year, CNPC said. Last year's volume was 116 million tonnes, vice-president Duan Wende told mainland media earlier this month.
CNPC said it aimed to increase its refined oil sales to 81.4 million tonnes this year, up 7.51 per cent from 2005. Some 50 million tonnes will be sold through its retail outlets.
The firm wants to raise the portion of its retail sales to 90 per cent of the total from 70 per cent last year. CNPC and China Petroleum & Chemical (Sinopec) control roughly 50 per cent of the retail market.
CNPC aims to raise daily sales per petrol station to nine tonnes from 7.9 tonnes to lift profitability.
'To meet demand, CNPC will further raise the proportion of diesel and high-grade petrol in its refining volume,' it added.
CNPC will push ahead with the construction and expansion of refineries in Dalian and Fushun in Liaoning province, Dushanzi in Xinjiang autonomous region, and in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
These projects are due for completion by 2009. CNPC said in May last year it would expand its annual refining capacity to 170 million tonnes by 2010.
The firm yesterday said it would invest 15.9 billion yuan on refinery construction and 7.5 billion yuan on storage and logistics facilities for its sales and distribution business.
PetroChina owns about 95 per cent of CNPC's refining capacity, according to Daiwa Securities analyst Rachel Tsang Wai-ming.
Separately, a Bloomberg report said PetroChina chief financial officer Wang Guoliang told an investor conference in Shanghai that the firm expected its crude oil output to rise slightly and its gas production to grow in double-digit percentage.
Capital expenditure might exceed 200 billion yuan in three years, he said.
In August last year, the firm raised its budgeted spending to 166 billion yuan from 149 billion yuan.
