China’s Sinopec reported a 2.6% rise in net profit for the first half of 2024 (H1 2024), driven by rise in oil and gas production that compensated for the falling domestic demand for refined fuel and petrochemicals.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp,  Sinopec has recorded a net income of 37.1 billion yuan ($5.21 billion) for January to June, according to a filing with the Shanghai stock exchange.

Sinopec said earlier that its oil and gas production hit a record high of 257.66 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), up 3.1% on the year, led by rising natural gas production.

Gas production was up 6% to 700.57 billion cubic feet (bcf), while crude oil output rose 0.6% on the year to 140.53 million barrels (mmbbl).

Moreover, refined product sales rose 2.1% to 119 million metric tons, although the domestic portion of those sales fell 2.5% to 90.14 million tons.

Revenue slipped 1.1% to 1.58 trillion yuan, dragged down by lower sales and prices of diesel and petrochemical products.

Diesel sales fell 13.8% and gasoline 0.2% from a year earlier while aviation fuel sales expanded 7.5%. While, production of ethylene, a key building block for petrochemicals, fell 5.5% in the first half.

The company said it is growing its liquefied natural gas (LNG) refueling and electric vehicle charging businesses to counter challenges posed by weak diesel demand and the shift from gasoline-powered vehicles to electric ones.