China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) announced Sunday that its net profits in the first half of 2007 rose by 65.3 percent from the same period of last year to 34.9 billion yuan (US$4.6 billion).

According to the Chinese accounting standard, Sinopec's operating income in the first half of this year was 566.8 billion yuan, representing an increase of 15.4 percent over the first half of 2006. The company's basic earnings per share is 0.403 yuan, up 65.3 percent from a year ago.

Sinopec attributed the rise to lower prices of crude oil and higher prices of chemical products in the domestic market.

The average Brent crude oil price was US$63.26 per barrel in the first half, down 3.7 percent from a year ago. The average realized crude oil price of Sinopec during the period was nearly US$52 per barrel.

In the first half of 2007, Sinopec achieved a new record in both oil and gas production, with 144 million barrels of crude oil and 140 billion cubic feet of natural gas produced, representing a year-on-year increase of 2.12 percent and 10.58 percent respectively.

Sinopec processed 76.25 million tons of crude oil in the first six months, a year-on-year increase of 6.38 percent.

Its output of gasoline rose by 8.28 percent, diesel, up 2.12 percent, kerosene, up 28.93 percent and light chemical feedstock, up 5.41 percent.

The company's output of ethylene rose by 7.98 percent from a year ago to 3.3 million tons and it's total domestic sales volume of refined oil products increased by 6.63 percent year on year to 57.92 million tons.

The construction of Sinopec's Sichuan to East China Gas Project transmitting natural gas from the Puguang gas field in southwestern Sichuan Province to energy-thirsty Shanghai in the east will be launched at the end of this month.

Including the exploration, development and gas processing of the gas field and the long-distance pipeline, the project is estimated to claim a total investment of 63.2 billion yuan. Gas supply is expected to commence by the end of 2008, announced the company.

The company plans to produce 147 million barrels of crude oil and 143 billion cubic feet of natural gas, refine 78.25 million tons of crude oil and raise the output of ethylene to 3.27 million tons in the second half of the year. Its planned domestic sales volume of refined oil products is 59 million tons.

Listed in Hong Kong, New York, London and Shanghai, Sinopec is the largest oil refiner of China.