In addition to crude oil, profits are also gushing. China Petrochemical Corporation, known to most as Sinopec, Asia's largest producer, jumped 24 percent in the first half of this year. From January to June, it grossed nearly $5 billion, up from $4 a year earlier.
Sinopec's takeoff comes after the new measures introduced by the Beijing government, which made it possible to link local fuel prices to international ones. The group has made it known that it expects even more dramatic growth in the months to come. "In the second half of the year we expect a strong increase in domestic demand for products deriving from oil refining - said President Fu Chengyu - The Chinese government will accelerate structural reforms and measures to keep economic growth stable".
The other Chinese oil giants are also smiling. PetroChina - which now has access to Canada's oil and gas reserves - saw profits grow by 5,6 percent, Cnooc by 7,9 percent.
A triumph of Asian crude whose roots are increasingly African. Beijing and the substantial investments in yuan are already massively present in the Black Continent. Sinopec itself concluded in June a 1 billion dollar deal in Angola, a state in which - they let China know - there are reserves for 533 barrels of oil.
But shopping, in those parts, is not only the prerogative of the dragon. The largest Indian giant in the sector, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, has just concluded the purchase of 10 percent of an offshore gas field in Mozambique, owned by the American Anadarko Petroleum. A 2,6 billion dollar deal for the Indian state group, which has to cope with the increase in domestic fuel demand. The Mozambican field appears to be strategically positioned to supply India with liquefied natural gas at a competitive price.
