30-05-08 China's largest refiner Sinopec said it would increase its oil processing and halt oil products exports in the third quarter to ensure domestic supply.
"Sinopec will raise production, halt exports and adjust product structure to ensure domestic supply, especially for the reconstruction after the earthquake, the summer harvest and the Olympic Games," said Sinopec President Wang Tianpu.

Disaster relief is a top priority for Sinopec, according to the company. It will work in tandem with the government to keep the prices of oil products in quake-hit regions stable.
The company had made emergency deliveries of gasoline and diesel to earthquake-hit regions. It also ordered several of its refineries to raise output in response to the disaster.

China's largest oil company PetroChina also said it would increase its refined oil production to ensure supply for reconstruction and the summer harvest. PetroChina has allocated 100,000 tons of refined oil in emergency supplies to Sichuan after the earthquake. By May 27, oil storage in Sichuan reached 252,000 tons, ensuring 16 days of supplies, the company said.
PetroChina will increase its oil supply to Sichuan, Chongqing, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia by 20 % for the summer harvest.

Facing high crude prices in the international market, the government's control on domestic refined oil prices has caused big losses for the country's oil refiners. In the first quarter, Sinopec saw its net profit plunge 65.78 % to Yuan 6.7 bn. This happened even after the company got Yuan 12.3 bn in government subsidies in March, of which Yuan 7.4 bn was counted as first-quarter income.
PetroChina said its first-quarter profit fell 31.5 % as refining losses and windfall taxes cut its earnings from record crude prices. Net income dropped to Yuan 28.9 bn from Yuan 42.1 bn a year earlier.

China exported 4.84 mm tons of refined oil products in the first four months of this year, a decrease of 7.8 % from a year earlier. In April, exports of refined oil products stoodat 1.23 mm tons, according to Customs figures.
From January to April, the country imported 12.68 mm tons of refined oil products, up 9.2 %, show Customs figures.