Sinopec posts 3% rise in profit for Q3

China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, Asia’s top oil refiner, reported a 3% year-on-year increase in net profits amounting to RMB 20.22 billion (US$3.1 billion) for the third quarter, reflecting a steady growth in domestic demand for refined oil and chemical products. In a statement given to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company said, “In the first three quarters, we had witnessed a steady improvement of the overall performance by overcoming the impact of refining loss caused by the controlled price of oil products.” According to Sinopec, its refining operations were on “full utilization rate” from January to September. The company processed 4.37 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil during the first three quarters, up 3.6% over the same period last year. It produced 95.45 million metric tons (mt) of gasoline, diesel fuel and kerosene in the same period, up 3.5% over last year. Domestic sales through its 30,103 retail stations in China were at 113.57 million mt of refined products, up 8.8% over last year. (October 27, 2011)