PetroChina Profit Falls 35% on Low Oil Prices

BEIJING - PetroChina(PTR Quote), China's biggest oil company, said Tuesday its profit fell 35.3% in the first quarter on low oil prices and weak demand as it headed into what it warned earlier would be a difficult year.

Profit for the quarter ending March 31 was 18.9 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) or 0.10 yuan a share, compared with 29.3 billion yuan or 0.16 yuan a share in the same period of 2008. Revenue fell 30% to 181.6 billion yuan ($26.5 billion).

"International crude oil prices remained at low levels and the domestic demand for oil and petrochemical products declined," the company said in a statement.

Global crude prices have fallen by about two-thirds from a record high of $147 a barrel in July. ...