Il fourth quarter of last year saw the PetroChina earnings drop 67%, more than expected. The figure is 11,2 billion yuan (1,8 billion dollars), against 34,3 in the previous year. In the whole 2014 profits di PetroChina they were from 107,2 billion yuan, down 17% from a year earlier.
The response of Asia's leading oil and gas producer was immediate: to divest and once again reduce expenses and investments. Capital spending will be cut by 10% to 266 billion yuan (about $43 billion) this year to offset lower revenues due to low crude oil prices.
PetroChina's measures also intend to meet the more stringent anti-corruption rules wanted by Beijing. Own PetroChina and Cnpc (China National Petroleum Corp, the parent company) are at the center of a major government investigation, launched in 2013 against corruption. The investigations directly concern the top management of the two companies, the same ones who are carrying out, after many postponements, a substantial plan for the sale of gas and oil pipelines.
Among the hypotheses under study there are also exchanges of assets: in particular PetroChina would like to get rid of some North American properties in the sector of unconventional energy sources. In fact, in recent years the company had secured assets in Canada in the shale and tar sands sectors.
On the other hand, the Chinese group does not rule out acquisitions, considering that the low level of oil also favors operations that can prove to be economically advantageous. Among the company's commitments are that of bringing the refining sector back into profits and that of reducing the cost of importing natural gas.
