PetroChina Co - the mainland's biggest oil and gas producer - is eyeing global energy deals as lower crude prices make it the right time to buy and sell assets.

"Low crude prices are a good opportunity for acquisitions," company president Wang Dongjin said on Thursday after it reported a 63-percent slump in profits for the first half of the year.

"Timing is really important now. We have been tracking some assets for a while and are waiting for the time to come," he said.

Oil prices have hit a six-year low, prompting a wave of acquisitions across the energy industry. Three of the last five quarters have exceeded $160 billion in deal volume, surpassing even the late 1990s, when many of the world's largest energy corporations were formed, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

While the mainland's big three oil companies have sat out this latest round, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp also said on Thursday it's seeking overseas assets.

PetroChina's net income dropped to 25.4 billion yuan ($4 billion), or 0.14 yuan a share, in the six months ended June 30 this year - from 68.1 billion yuan, or 0.37 yuan, a year earlier - the Beijing-based company told the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday. The average of three analysts estimates compiled by Bloomberg was a profit of 30.3 billion yuan. PetroChina's share price added 4.13 percent to close at HK$6.55 apiece on Thursday.

While the fall in crude prices is presenting an opportunity for deals, it has been a drag on profits as the company depends on exploration and production for most of its revenue.

Crude has tumbled as producers sustain output to protect market share, worsening a global oversupply, amid concern that demand growth from the mainland is stalling.

Brent, the benchmark for about half the world's crude, averaged about $59 a barrel in the first half of the year - down 45 percent from the same period in 2014.

"The global oil price is likely to keep fluctuating at a low level," the company said in its earnings release. "The growth of domestic demand for oil and gas will slow down, and the market competition will get tougher."

PetroChina produced 736 million barrels of oil equivalent in the first half, up 2.9 percent from a year earlier. Its average realized crude price fell 45 percent, while average natural gas prices rose 0.4 percent. Sales dropped 24 percent to 878 billion yuan, according to the statement. Capital expenditure declined 33 percent to 61.7 billion yuan.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials fell to a 16-year low this month and is down 17 percent this year as a glut of raw materials from oil to iron ore meets cooling demand from the mainland - the world's biggest consumer of energy, metals and grains.

PetroChina's domestic rivals were also struck by oil's fall. CNOOC Ltd's first-half income dropped 56 percent, while the decline at China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, Asia's biggest refiner known as Sinopec, was softened to 22 percent because of better fuel-making margins over the period.

(HK Edition 08/28/2015 page11)