Reforms lift PetroChina Q3 profit

In the natural gas and pipeline segments, PetroChina realized a profit of 23.44 billion yuan in the first three quarters, compared with 885 million yuan for the same period last year. The surge reflected a government decision that allowed natural gas suppliers to raise prices on July 10.

On that date, charges for industrial users went up by an average of 15 percent, to 1.95 yuan per cubic meter. The government plans to double the share of natural gas in China's energy mix to 10 percent by 2020.

The company achieved a steady production increase during the first three quarters, with oil and natural gas equivalent output rising 4.3 percent year-on-year.

Crude oil output rose 2.2 percent to 698 million barrels, but the exploration and production division's profit fell 10 percent to 147 billion yuan because of higher costs and a 3.6-percent drop in the average selling price.

China's other energy giant, CNOOC Ltd, which acquired Canada-based Nexen Inc last year, reported an improved performance for the third quarter.

CNOOC , the nation's largest offshore oil and gas developer, achieved 56.14 billion yuan in sales in the third quarter, an increase of 15.9 percent year-on-year, the company said last week.

CNOOC said its performance got a boost from higher production volume.

During the quarter, the company's total net production rose 17.8 percent year-on-year to 103.4 million barrels of oil equivalent. Nexen contributed 16.1 million barrels of the total.

Li Fanrong, chief executive officer of the company, said that CNOOC made significant progress in exploration during the third quarter, including the Luda 5-2 North and Kenli 9-5/9-6 fields.