Which of the "Big Three" oil companies performed the best in 2024?

On March 30, with the announcement of PetroChina's financial results, the annual reports of China's "Big Three" oil companies for 2024 were all released. Among them, PetroChina, under the International Financial Reporting Standards, achieved operating revenue of 2.9 trillion yuan during the reporting period; its net profit attributable to parent company shareholders reached 164.68 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.0%, setting a new historical record. Sinopec reported operating revenue of 3.07 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 4.3%, and net profit attributable to parent company shareholders of 50.313 billion yuan, down 16.8% year-on-year. CNOOC saw its operating revenue rise by 0.9% to 420.506 billion yuan, while its net profit attributable to parent company shareholders increased by 11.4% to 137.936 billion yuan. In 2024, the combined net profit attributable to parent company shareholders of the "Big Three" oil companies exceeded 352.9 billion yuan, equivalent to a daily net profit of approximately 970 million yuan. Specifically, while the performance of the three companies varied, each had its own highlights:

China National Petroleum Corporation's performance in 2024 reached another all-time high. As of the end of the reporting period, the company's free cash flow was 104.35 billion yuan,连续三年超过1000亿元。

While achieving record-high performance, PetroChina's shareholder returns have also reached new heights. To actively reward shareholders, PetroChina's board of directors has proposed a final dividend of 0.25 yuan per share for the end of 2024, with a total final dividend payout of approximately 45.755 billion yuan. The annual dividend per share is 0.47 yuan, with a payout ratio of 52.2%, and the total annual dividend payout is approximately 86.02 billion yuan. Both the final and annual dividends per share have reached the best levels in the same period in history.

In terms of exploration and development, the results of increasing oil and gas reserves and production are significant. China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) adheres to efficient exploration, focusing on enhancing the recoverable reserves and reserve replacement ratio. Major breakthroughs and important discoveries have been achieved in the Tarim Basin, Sichuan Basin, Junggar Basin, Ordos Basin, and Songliao Basin. The company insists on benefit-oriented development, systematically advancing the construction of capacity projects such as Bayan and Sulige, coordinating the effective production in new areas, maintaining stable production in old areas, and fine-tuning management to increase production. It promotes the efficient development of unconventional oil and gas resources, with crude oil production steadily increasing and natural gas production maintaining rapid growth, while the proportion of oil and gas equivalent continues to rise. The company continues to promote the high-quality development of overseas oil and gas business, actively acquiring quality new projects, optimizing the operation of existing projects, and continuously improving the concentration of overseas oil and gas business assets and investment return rates.

China's domestic oil and gas equivalent output reached 220 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 2.5%. Crude oil production was 110 million tons, up 0.4% year-on-year, while marketable natural gas output totaled 140.36 billion cubic meters, a 4.6% increase. The country has concentrated its strengths to accelerate the development of new energy businesses. In 2024, wind and solar power generation reached 4.72 billion kilowatt-hours, with 4.954 million kilowatts of newly installed wind and solar capacity. New geothermal heating contracts covered 75.12 million square meters. The oil, gas, and new energy sectors achieved an operating profit of 159.75 billion yuan.

In the refining sector, the pace of transformation has accelerated, and the new materials business has shown remarkable performance. Adhering to a green and intelligent direction, with a market-oriented approach and a focus on efficiency, we are optimizing and adjusting the load of our facilities and product structure. We are deeply implementing strategies to reduce oil and increase chemicals, as well as to reduce oil and increase specialty products, continuously enhancing the output of high-value-added products and actively transitioning towards the mid-to-high end of the "refining and chemical materials" industry chain. Key transformation and upgrading projects such as Jilin Petrochemical and Guangxi Petrochemical are progressing in an orderly manner, and the high-end polyolefin project of Blue Ocean New Materials has officially launched. We are increasing the unified sales of characteristic refining products, with market shares of bonded marine fuel oil, paraffin, low-sulfur petroleum coke, and specialty asphalt ranking first in the country. We are strengthening market analysis and judgment in the chemical sector to enhance marketing capabilities, resulting in a significant increase in chemical product sales. In 2024, the company plans to process 190 million tons of crude oil; produce 120 million tons of refined oil; achieve a chemical product sales volume of 38.981 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 13.6%; and a chemical new materials output of 2.045 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 49.3%. The new materials business in refining achieved an operating profit of 21.39 billion yuan.

Despite revenue and net profit declining, Sinopec still maintained a high dividend payout ratio. When combined with the repurchase amount, the total profit distribution for the year reached 75%, and it also established its first market value management system.

The company attributed the decline in revenue to the impact of falling prices and reduced sales volumes of products such as refined oil.

Additionally, Sinopec's refined oil sales business leveraged its integrated advantages to establish itself as a comprehensive energy service provider offering "oil, gas, hydrogen, and electricity" services, with an annual total refined oil sales volume of 239 million tons. Last year, Sinopec processed 252 million tons of crude oil and produced 153 million tons of refined oil, including a 2.6% year-on-year increase in gasoline production, an 8.6% year-on-year increase in kerosene production, and a 10.3% year-on-year decrease in diesel production.

During the reporting period, the operating revenue of the Marketing and Distribution Division was 1.71 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 5.7%. This was primarily attributed to sluggish demand for refined oil products, reduced sales volume, and declining refined oil prices in line with lower crude oil prices. Specifically, gasoline sales revenue was 813.8 billion yuan, down 2.1% year-on-year; diesel sales revenue was 562.8 billion yuan, down 10.1% year-on-year; and kerosene sales revenue was 153 billion yuan, down 1.1% year-on-year.

In 2024, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) achieved record-high profits across its entire natural gas industrial chain, with natural gas sales revenue reaching 29.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29.8%. The chemical business division reported operating revenue of 523.9 billion yuan, up 1.7% year-on-year, primarily driven by growth in both the sales volume and prices of chemical products. Last year, the company's total chemical product sales volume was 83.45 million tons, a 0.5% increase year-on-year, with exports rising by 13.1%.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) plans to have capital expenditures of 164.3 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year decrease of 6%. The main areas of investment will be in exploration and development, transformation and upgrading of refining and chemical businesses, construction of integrated energy stations network, and projects in new energy, new materials, and green environmental protection.

The net profit of 137.936 billion yuan set the second-highest record in the company's history, slightly lower than the net profit of 141.7 billion yuan in 2022.

CNOOC has consistently implemented multiple measures to tap into production potential, achieving record-high output for several consecutive years. In 2024, the company's net oil and gas production reached 726.8 million barrels of oil equivalent, marking a 7.2% year-on-year increase. In China, net production rose by 5.6% year-on-year, driven by contributions from fields such as Bozhong 19-6. Overseas, net production surged by 10.8% year-on-year, supported by the commencement of projects like the Payara development in Guyana.

CNOOC adheres to value exploration and precise strategies, continuously expanding its resource base. Throughout the year, it achieved 11 new oil and gas discoveries and successfully evaluated 30 oil and gas-bearing structures. By the end of 2024, the net proven reserves reached 7.27 billion barrels of oil equivalent, a year-on-year increase of 7.2%, with a stable reserve life of 10 years. CNOOC continuously innovates exploration theories and technologies, successfully obtaining multiple new discoveries in China, including Longkou 7-1, Qinhuangdao 29-6, Huizhou 19-6, and Lingshui 36-1. Overseas, it actively lays out around the Atlantic coasts and countries along the "Belt and Road," newly acquiring oil contracts for 10 blocks in Mozambique, Brazil, and Iraq, further expanding its global exploration business area.

CNOOC accelerates the cultivation of new quality productivity, with remarkable achievements in technology-empowered production and operation. The commissioning of the "Seahawk-1," Asia's first cylindrical FPSO, and the "Haiji-2," Asia's deepest water jacket platform, has innovated the development model for deepwater oil and gas fields, achieving efficient and economical exploitation of oil and gas resources. The development of digitalization and intelligence is solid and powerful, with the initial establishment of a number of smart oil and gas fields represented by "Deep Sea-1" and Qinhuangdao 32-6 oilfield, and the unmanned rate of offshore platforms steadily increasing. The standardization of engineering construction continues to expand in application, effectively promoting the acceleration of production capacity construction, with multiple key projects commencing operations ahead of schedule. In 2024, the company's capital expenditure reached RMB 132.5 billion, providing strong support for new project construction and production growth.

CNOOC adheres to the concept of sustainable development, prioritizes production safety, and actively explores green transformation pathways. The company effectively responded to challenges such as the super typhoon "Yagi," ensuring the steady operation of offshore oil and gas fields. Significant progress has been made in green and low-carbon production of oil and gas resources, with the Wushi 23-5 oilfield group, the first fully green-designed offshore project in China, being completed and put into operation. The third phase of the Bohai shore power project has been fully commissioned, achieving a total of 760 million kWh of green electricity substitution through shore power projects for the year. During the year, the world's first 16 MW tension-leg floating wind power platform project commenced, with an average annual power generation capacity of 54 million kWh. At the same time, the company is steadily advancing zero-carbon and negative-carbon industries, with the Daya Bay CCS/CCUS demonstration project making solid progress, and actively building two offshore CCUS bases in Bohai and Hainan.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) adheres to lean management, maintaining a high level of profitability and successfully navigating through the oil price cycle with outstanding performance. In 2024, oil and gas sales revenue reached RMB 355.6 billion, with net profit attributable to shareholders reaching RMB 137.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 11.4%. The average cost per barrel of oil equivalent for the year was USD 28.52, a decrease of approximately 1.1% year-on-year, continuously reinforcing cost competitiveness. To share the achievements of development with shareholders, the board of directors has proposed a final dividend of HKD 0.66 per share (before tax), resulting in a total annual dividend of HKD 1.40 per share (before tax), with a dividend payout ratio of 44.7%, fulfilling the company's commitment to high standards in dividend distribution.

In 2024, the average selling price of CNOOC's petroleum liquids fell by 1.6% year-on-year to 76.75 US dollars per barrel, and the natural gas selling price fell by 3.3% to 7.72 US dollars per thousand cubic feet. However, CNOOC's oil and gas sales revenue last year increased by 8.4% year-on-year to 355.6 billion yuan, and the net profit attributable to the parent company increased by 11.4% year-on-year to 137.9 billion yuan.