The oil market is like the sea, and there has never been a time when the tide is as flat as a mirror
In 2023, under the circumstance of intensifying the risk of global economic recession, the overall poor trend of the bulk petrochemical product market, and achieving a sharp year-on-year drop of 16.8% in oil prices, PetroChina strengthened the efficient coordination among various industrial chains and sub-groups, gave full play to the "comprehensive" advantages of a comprehensive international energy company, achieved an upward trend in operating performance against the "market", hit a record high, and embarked on an extraordinary road of both quality and efficiency.
The achievements are hard-won and must be cherished
Looking back, we should re-examine it
Brilliant performance
Is there a deeper level of management wisdom?
What kind of power has forged the transformation and upgrading of PetroChina?
New potential energy for potential and development?
Behind these problems
Perhaps, exactly
PetroChina rode the wind and waves in the treacherous oil market
The key to swimming against the current
Play a good "combination boxing"
In the changing waves of the oil sea, we can find that the advantages of the two-wheel drive of PetroChina's main business are more prominent. The oil and gas industry chain has given full play to the synergistic effect, which not only ensures the smooth and efficient operation of the main business, but also helps the company's operating performance to climb steadily.
The drilling depth of PetroChina's deep Taco 1 well exceeded the 10,000-meter mark, setting a new record for the deepest vertical well in Asia. Photo by Jin Tian
Crude oil and natural gas are not only two important components of PetroChina's main business, but also an important core source of operating performance. The two are like the two wheels of a car and the wings of a bird, walking together with each other.
Focusing on 2023, despite the wide fluctuations in international oil prices, it has always been in the effective profit space of oil companies, creating a good external environment for PetroChina's sustained profitability, which is undoubtedly "God's help". However, while the settlement of oil prices fell sharply year-on-year, PetroChina's operating performance rose against the "market" and hit a record high, and more "human efforts" played a key role.
People work hard, God helps, but more depends on people's efforts. As an important part of PetroChina's main business, the crude oil industry chain has long been the basis of PetroChina's profitability.
-- From the perspective of production, in the past year, PetroChina has highlighted economic recoverable reserves, promoted efficient exploration, and made a number of major breakthroughs and important discoveries in key basins such as Ordos, Tarim, Sichuan and Bohai Bay. At the same time, oil and gas development strengthened the stable production of old oil and gas fields and the efficient construction of new areas, and crude oil production increased by 0.8% year-on-year.
——From the perspective of processing, in the past year, PetroChina seized the favorable opportunity of market recovery, maintained high-load production in refining and chemical business, optimized crude oil allocation globally, continued to optimize product mix and strengthened inventory management, and achieved production and efficiency increase while improving the country's energy security and security capabilities. Among them, the volume of domestic processed crude oil increased by 15.3% year-on-year, reaching the best level in history, and the profit margin was further expanded.
——From the sales side, in the past year, PetroChina seized the favorable opportunity of the recovery of domestic refined oil market demand, actively improved marketing measures, strengthened production and marketing coordination, and achieved a year-on-year increase of 17.3% in domestic sales of gasoline, kerosene and diesel, while optimizing the export of refined oil products to achieve both quantity and efficiency.
From the production end to the processing end to the sales end, PetroChina has ensured the smooth operation of the crude oil industry chain by optimizing production and operation, strengthening marketing, and promoting integration and coordination, and has also firmly maintained the fundamentals of PetroChina's profitability.
There is no doubt that relying on an industrial chain alone is not conducive to the long-term development of the company, and its ability to resist risks is also stretched. Especially in the context of large fluctuations in oil prices, the profitability of the crude oil industry chain will be affected, which will test the overall profitability of the company, resulting in a passive situation in production and operation. At the same time, some experts also said that compared with crude oil, the cost of natural gas barrels is lower. When natural gas production equivalent accounts for more than half of oil and gas production, it can effectively resolve the operational risks caused by falling oil prices.
As a comprehensive international energy company, PetroChina has long adhered to the two-wheel drive of its main business, gradually formed an oil and gas industry chain with coordinated development, and played a good role in the high-quality development of oil and gas business.
In recent years, from the simultaneous development of oil and gas to the equal emphasis on oil and gas, from the equal emphasis on oil and gas to the priority development of natural gas, and then to the rapid development of natural gas, the natural gas industry chain has taken the responsibility of ensuring national energy security, based on Changqing, Southwest, Tarim, Qinghai and other gas areas, often not at the same time, highlighting production, supply, quality improvement, and efficiency, while helping the national economic development and ensuring the needs of people's livelihood, the contribution value to PetroChina's performance has increased year by year.
-- From the perspective of production, the proportion of PetroChina's natural gas production equivalent in the oil and gas production structure has increased steadily, and in 2020, it historically surpassed crude oil production. In the next three years, one step per year, it will reach 53.5% in 2023. Compared with imported natural gas from afar, the cost advantage of domestic natural gas is self-evident, so the rapid growth of domestic natural gas production has also expanded the profitability of the natural gas industry chain. By increasing production and expanding profits, it has effectively played an important role in the "incremental disk" of China's oil profits.
——From the perspective of procurement, PetroChina made full use of the "window period" of simultaneous and year-on-year decline in international oil and gas prices last year, optimized the structure of the imported gas resource pool, signed a new batch of natural gas purchase and sales contracts, reasonably arranged the rhythm of natural gas imports, carried out hedging in an orderly manner, and effectively controlled the cost of imported gas.
The oil and gas industry chain, which is stable and rising, complements each other, has become a solid fortress to protect the profitability of PetroChina's main business. It is precisely because of their existence that PetroChina's future high-quality development is more confident.
Closely related to "comprehensive"
PetroChina has the advantages of large scale, strong resilience and profound political and cultural heritage. Placed in the "storm field" of the international oil market, with its "comprehensive" characteristic advantages, it gathers the joint efforts of various business developments, follows the "market" and goes against the "market", continuously enhances the ability to resist market risks, and truly becomes the main body of competition in the market economy.
The refined oil produced by Guangdong Petrochemical has been well received by customers. Photo by Lu Dianjie.
In 2023, PetroChina's four major sub-groups and 10 professional companies will fully achieve both quality and efficiency. This is a milestone in the development of PetroChina. In particular, in the case of a sharp year-on-year decline in oil prices, PetroChina has hedged the loss of benefits from the decline in oil prices with the scale growth and quality improvement of the whole industry chain, and has achieved remarkable results.
Carefully deconstructing this hard-won report card, we can further find that the development positioning and strategic goals of the four major sub-groups are clearer and clearer, the layout and structure are continuously optimized, the transformation and upgrading are accelerated, the profitability and market competitiveness are continuously enhanced, and the resilience and safety level of the industrial chain and supply chain are steadily improved. In particular, as a comprehensive international energy company, it supports the deepening of the integrated development of the service business and the financial business, promotes the deep integration, and forms effective synergy with the main oil and gas business, while constantly expanding its own development space and continuously improving its profitability, and has delivered a brilliant performance answer.
In the past year, as a strong support for the two major oil and gas industry chains, the support service business actively explored the market, so as to expand the scale of the customer base, increase sales, reduce dependence on the existing market, and further reduce operational risks. Among them, CNPC Technical Services actively optimizes the market layout, forms a number of potential scale markets, and relies on core technologies and characteristic technologies to fully ensure the increase of reserves and production, and further expand the profit margin. CNPC Engineering adheres to marketing and optimal structure, and the amount of newly signed contracts has reached a record high. Based on the broad market, we continued to deepen the promotion and application of independent technology, and achieved a net profit of more than 100 million yuan. As a new company that has just been established, Kunlun Manufacturing pays close attention to high-end and efficient market development, strengthens equipment technology research and development, optimizes lean manufacturing, and accounts for 37% of high-end and high value-added revenue.
As an important business of PetroChina, the capital finance business is based on the resources of the industrial chain, further integrates the company's financial business resources, gives full play to the advantages of the combination of industry and finance, and promotes the dual appreciation of assets and capital. In the past year, under the circumstance of large fluctuations in the exchange rate, the capital finance business strengthened financial management, effectively played the role of strategic guidance, value creation, decision-making support, and risk prevention and control, and further maintained a certain scale of net profit by strengthening foreign currency asset management, controlling and reducing debt scale, optimizing debt structure, reasonably reducing costs and expenses, improving the viability of enterprises, and achieving management improvement efficiency.
Behind the upward arrow of various business indicators is the inevitable result of PetroChina's "comprehensive" company's more distinctive characteristics, more efficient integration and synergy, and deeper awareness of efficiency, and it is also an important "magic weapon" for us to control the future market and overcome various crises.
Identifying the "growth pole"
The new energy landscape calls for technological and industrial innovation. The development of strategic emerging industries and future industries is precisely the key to accelerating the formation of new competitiveness. Today, when breaking through to the "new" has become the transformation password, PetroChina has taken the lead and demonstrated with the layout of "double carbon and three new", opening up a new market world.
The first wind power utilization project in Daqing Oilfield - Longyilian Wind Power Project of the Ninth Oil Production Plant. Photo by Han Jing
At present, the global energy market pattern is accelerating the reshaping, in the new round of "horse racing" boom, who can take the lead in the energy transition, who will grasp the market initiative.
On this proposition, the answer given by PetroChina is to continue to transform into an energy company, drive benign development with a more prominent "energy" background and more distinctive "energy" characteristics, and tap greater market potential.
The "report card" that has repeatedly created the best in history is the best embodiment of the continuous enhancement of the core competitiveness of the new development positioning in the market. While the oil and gas industry chain is running steadily, PetroChina focuses on the future, strengthens the research and judgment of the development trend of the industry, always adheres to the principle of efficiency, and is committed to making the "double carbon and three new" business a new performance growth point.
For a long time, PetroChina has thoroughly implemented the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on the "dual carbon" work, continuously accelerated the pace of low-carbon transformation and green development while ensuring national energy security, and sang the "green song" of high-quality development.
——From the perspective of new energy business, PetroChina has always tightened the strings of operational efficiency around the goal of efficiency and efficiency, adhered to the principle of "professional management, market-oriented operation and precise investment", and continuously improved the level of production and operation management.
It started three years ago, and now it's a steady pace. By the end of 2023, PetroChina made a historic breakthrough in the development and utilization of new energy, and a comprehensive energy supply pattern of "oil, gas, thermopower, and hydrogen" was initially formed, with an annual development and utilization capacity of 11.5 million tons of standard coal, a year-on-year increase of 44%. At the same time, the year-on-year increase in revenue was achieved throughout the year, effectively realizing the coordinated development from scale expansion to benefit maximization.
According to the three-step overall deployment of "clean substitution, strategic succession, and green transformation", PetroChina is currently in a critical period of clean substitution, and has achieved synergy and complementarity with the oil and gas industry chain through the development and utilization of new energy and clean substitution of production energy, and expanded a certain benefit space. Taking Jilin Oilfield as an example, in 2023, its new energy wind and solar power generation capacity has exceeded 320 million kWh, and the self-consumption power generation efficiency has reached 120 million yuan. In addition, the new energy markets such as geothermal and hydrogen energy continue to expand and accelerate upgrading, providing strong support for the steady operation of oil and gas.
——From the perspective of new material business, in the new stage of "breaking into the high-end", PetroChina has insight into the market, scientific research and judgment, and the development of "product giants" has been efficiently promoted, and the achievements in climbing over hurdles are remarkable.
In the past year, the domestic chemical market has continued to expand, the downstream demand is generally poor, the supply easing situation is still severe, and the profits of major petrochemical products are generally at the lowest level in history. In this context, PetroChina's new materials business overcame the adverse impact of the decline in ex-factory prices of chemical raw materials and products, and achieved effective profitability with strong market resilience.
In the important period when the mainland is focusing on building a "dual circulation" at home and abroad, the new chemical materials industry will become a new driving force for economic growth. At present, the overall self-sufficiency rate of high-end new chemical materials in mainland China is about 60%, and independent innovation has become a new market breakthrough. In the past year, PetroChina has developed a total of 137 new chemical products and produced 1.37 million tons of new materials, opening up a new blue ocean of refining and chemical transformation with a growth rate of 60%.
——From the perspective of new business, PetroChina takes the "dual carbon" goal as the starting point, digs deep into the potential of the carbon market, and uses green and low-carbon development itself as a "reservoir" for continuous growth in income.
According to experts, it is expected that by 2050, the annual carbon dioxide injection scale of the mainland will reach 100 million tons, and the economic scale will reach one trillion yuan, and the development prospects are very broad. At present, the implementation scale of PetroChina's CCUS project remains leading in China, with an annual injection volume of more than 1.5 million tons, which effectively improves the recovery rate of low permeability oilfields while supporting carbon emission reduction, making it more economical. In terms of carbon asset development, PetroChina's carbon asset projects in operation are expected to reduce emissions of 349,000 tons, of which 269,000 tons have been traded, achieving a positive interaction with the carbon market.
Direction leads the way
Now, PetroChina is breaking through to the "new".
While giving full play to the advantages of integration and effectively fighting risks
It also brings new expectations for the continuation of good business performance
The new "road to the test" is full of changes and opportunities
How to play a good "combination boxing" and closely follow the "comprehensive"
Identifying the "growth pole"
It has become a difficult problem for the energy industry
In the midst of strong winds and waves
PetroChina is aiming at the course and actively exploring ......
Reporter: Gao Tui Cheng Yichen
Editor: Guo Siqing
Editor-in-charge: He Li
Review: Li Xiangyang