China's oil giants post profit drop

The combined profits of China’s three major oil companies fell by 31.3% in 2008, the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association (CPCIA) said. The three companies—China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec Group), and China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC)—posted a combined profit of RMB222.8 billion (US$32.64 billion) in 2008. The total profit of China’s petrochemical sector last year was RMB499 billion (US$73.1 billion), down 10% from 2007. The sector registered double-digit growth in the first eight months of 2008, but this slowed from September to close to zero in November and turned negative in December. (February 17, 2009)