PetroChina Set for Record Trading Profit as Iran War Upends Market, Sources Say

3-line summary

• PetroChina is on track for record trading profit, Reuters reported October 16 in an exclusive citing five anonymous trading executives, as the Iran war changes how Middle East crude is bought and sold, tightening global fuel markets and lifting margins at refiners abroad. Trading subsidiary PetroChina International (PCI) is expected to post total 2026 profit exceeding 20 billion yuan (about $3 billion), a record; crude trading, which usually accounts for more than half of PCI's profit, had already more than doubled its full-2025 profit by early October. PetroChina's group-wide first-half net profit was about $14.65 billion, per an August disclosure.
• Reasons cited for the profit surge: PetroChina's large production, supply assets, and extensive refining/retail network make it less exposed to war-driven supply disruptions; Chairman Dai Houliang said in March the Strait of Hormuz accounts for only 10% of the company's oil and gas needs, versus rival Sinopec's roughly 50% reliance on Middle East crude; profits also came from spot-cargo arbitrage as Middle East producers (excluding Iran) cut export prices, plus cross-region re-export trades. PetroChina also holds 50% stakes in overseas refineries — France's Lavera (210,000 barrels/day) and a Singapore facility (285,000 barrels/day) — benefiting from tighter fuel-market margins driven by both the Iran war and the Russia-Ukraine war.
• Context: the Iran war prompted Gulf oil producers to use shuttle fleets to move cargo through the Strait of Hormuz and sell via spot tenders, versus pre-war annual supply contracts; as freight rates spiked, producers cut prices — Saudi Aramco's official selling price for Asian buyers fell to a six-year low, and Iraq's SOMO widened its discount to more than $30 a barrel. European majors BP, Shell, and TotalEnergies also reportedly earned billions in trading profit in the war's early months. The report noted PetroChina did not respond to requests for comment, and trading profit is not separately disclosed in official results, so the figures rely on anonymous sources.

This summary is our own processing of the source article; see the source link below for full context.