SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of January 2007
PETROCHINA COMPANY LIMITED
16 ANDELU, DONGCHENG DISTRICT
BEIJING, THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, 100011
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.)
Form 20-F X Form 40-F
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(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the
information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to
the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934.)
Yes No X
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(If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the
registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82- )
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PetroChina Company Limited (the "Registrant") is furnishing under the cover
of Form 6-K the Registrant's press release with respect to its operational
results for the year ended December 31, 2006.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements
are, by their nature, subject to significant risks and uncertainties. These
forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to:
o the Registrant's plan to optimize its resource allocation and
reinforce operational safety, environmental protection and resources
saving practices; and
o the Registrant's other future plans and prospects.
These forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to
future events and are not a guarantee of future performance. Actual results may
differ materially from information contained in these forward-looking statements
as a result of a number of factors, including, without limitation:
o fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas prices;
o failure to achieve continued exploration success;
o failure or delay in achieving production from development projects;
o failure to complete the proposed acquisition of certain overseas
assets as planned;
o change in demand for competing fuels in the target market;
o continued availability of capital and financing;
o general economic, market and business conditions;
o changes in policies, laws or regulations of the PRC and other
jurisdictions in which the Registrant and its subsidiaries conduct
business; and
o other factors beyond the Registrant's control.
We do not intend to update or otherwise revise the forward-looking
statements in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise. Because of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the
forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this press release might
not occur in the way we expect, or at all.
You should not place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking
statements.
(PETROCHINA COMPANY LIMITED PRESS RELEASE LETTERHEAD)
PETROCHINA CONTINUES TO REPORT RAPID GROWTH IN
KEY OPERATIONS FOR FULL YEAR 2006
MAJOR OPERATIONAL INDICATORS SET RECORD HIGHS
15 January 2007, Beijing - PetroChina Company Limited ("PetroChina" or the
"Company," SEHK stock code 0857; NYSE symbol PTR) announced today that its
business operations advanced ahead actively in 2006 leveraging on the steady
development of China's economy and the continuous growth in demand for oil and
gas domestically. Whilst oil and gas exploration reported remarkable progress
and oil and gas output recorded new high levels, the Company's refining and
chemical businesses, sales and marketing of oil and natural gas as well as
international trade also moved on at a fast pace, with all its key operational
indicators meeting the targets well ahead of schedule.
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In 2006, the Company's oil and gas development laid a solid foundation for
growth in production by implementing a series of comprehensive measures to
enhance the recovery rate of mature oilfields that effectively controlled the
decline in output, and accelerating the construction of facilities at new
oilfields to introduce new production capacity in a timely manner. During the
year, the Company's aggregate output of oil and gas reached 1.062 billion
barrels of oil equivalent, representing a 5.2 percent increase from the
corresponding period last year. Of this, crude oil output amounted to 829
million barrels, representing an increase of 6.8 million barrels, or 0.8 percent
from the previous year, setting another new record high. Output of marketable
natural gas reached 1,382.4 billion cubic feet, representing an increase of
262.9 billion cubic feet, or 23.5 percent from the same period in 2005, which
reflected a consistent growth at a rate of over 20 percent per annum. As part of
the Company's oilfield readjustment programme, Daqing Oilfield spared no effort
to put into effect its sustainable development plan, achieving good results with
annual crude oil output reaching 43.38 million tons. Changqing Oilfield saw fast
growth in crude oil output for the sixth consecutive year in 2006 reporting an
annual output of 10.59 million tons, making itself another 10-million-ton-class
oilfield. Southwest Oilfield's oil and gas output also broke through 10 million
tons of oil equivalent in 2006 to become the first gas-centric oil and gas field
in China with output reaching 10 million
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tons. Natural gas output at Tarim Oilfield went beyond 11 billion cubic metres,
further strengthening the steady supply to the West-East Gas Pipeline network.
To date, PetroChina has six domestic oil and gas fields with an annual output of
over 10 million tons of oil equivalent each.
In 2006, the Company continued to make oil exploration a priority and fortify
natural gas exploration. A series of significant breakthroughs and significant
progress was accomplished at Erdos Basin, northern part of Songliao Basin,
Sichuan Basin, northwest rim of Junggar Basin, the Jidong tidal and shallow
water areas, as well as Heshui, Jiyuan, and the surrounding areas of Sulige in
Erdos. Proven reserves of oil and natural gas achieved targets as set, lay the
foundation of continuous and steady growth in oil and gas production in the
future.
In 2006, the Company's refining and chemical segment responded proactively to
the growing demand in market by optimizing its resources allocation, production
and business operations, running its refining facilities at high capacity with
smooth operations. The annual utilization rate of the refining capacity exceeded
97 percent. During the year, PetroChina processed 785 million barrels of crude
oil, an increase of 32.7 million barrels, or 4.3 percent, from the same period
of last year. The output of gasoline, diesel and kerosene reached 22.027 million
tons, 44.227 million tons and 2.06 million tons, representing an increase of
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2.9 percent, 2.9 percent and 4.8 percent respectively from the corresponding
period the previous year. Commercial production of chemical products continued
to grow, with the output of ethylene and synthetic resin reaching 2.068 million
tons and 3.06 million tons, representing an increase of 9.5 percent and 11
percent respectively over the same period of last year. The Company further
improved its key technical and economic indicators, maintaining its leading
position in refining loss rate and yield of chemical ethylene in the industry
domestically.
In 2006, the building of the marketing network of the Company witnessed good
progress. In particular, the number of large scale and profitable wholly-owned
service stations located at prime locations increased significantly.
PetroChina's service stations now totaled 18,207. Average daily sales per
station also showed strong improvement.
In 2006, the construction of key projects for the refining and chemical segments
proceeded in an orderly way. The ethylene projects in Sichuan and Fushun, the
chemical fertilizer project in Tarim and the petrochemical and refining project
in Guangxi all broke ground and kicked off construction during the year. At the
same time, PetroChina completed the construction of new installations as well as
certain expansion and renovation projects which have now been put into
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service, enhancing substantially the crude oil primary processing capability of
the Company to ease off the inadequacy in this respect. The Company's ethylene
production capability also made a great leap forward and its production scale
improved further.
Additionally, PetroChina made smooth progress in its major pipeline projects in
2006. The Alashankou-Dushanzi Crude Oil Pipeline started commercial operations
during the year to deliver crude oil imported via the China-Kazakhstan Pipeline
to Dushanzi Petrochemical Company. At the same time, PetroChina quickened its
pace of networking construction of key gas pipelines and the construction of
compression and ancillary facilities, striking to boost the transmission
capacity of the pipelines to ensure safe and stable gas supply. With the Ji-Ning
Connection Line and Huai-Wu Connection Line linking to the West-East Gas
Pipeline being put into operation one after the other during the year, an
expanded network comprising the West-East Gas Pipeline, Second Shaanxi-Beijing
Gas Pipeline and Zhongxian-Wuhan Gas Pipeline was finally created, which in turn
raised the stability and reliability of gas supply in the country. In 2006, upon
implementation of construction projects of compression and ancillary facilities,
these networks achieved a more than twofold increase in its pipeline gas
transmission volume compared with the previous year. The annual gas transmission
capacity of the Sebei-Xining-Lanzhou Pipeline reached 2.8 billion cubic metres
following the completion of compression facility installation.
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The gas transmission capacity of Shaanxi-Beijing Gas Pipeline system also
increased by nearly 40 percent from last year.
In 2006, PetroChina's international business advanced in a healthy and steady
fashion. The Company completed the acquisition of a 67 percent interest in
PetroKazakhstan ("PKZ") from its parent China National Petroleum Corporation
("CNPC") through CNPC Exploration and Development, a joint venture with CNPC,
which provided PetroChina with equity oil and gas reserves and production
capacity in the strategic region of Kazakhstan. By way of fostering its
international trade activities, the Company achieved rapid growth in both total
trade volume and trade value.
Looking forward into 2007, the world economy is expected to continue to grow at
a relative fast pace. It is likely that the Chinese economy will also see steady
growth with demand for oil and gas as well as petroleum and petrochemical
products staying strong. All these would help bring new opportunities and be
conducive to further growth of the Company. By pushing ahead structural
improvements, optimizing its resource allocation, changing its growth patterns,
reinforcing operational safety, environmental protection and resources saving
practices, introducing new system, technology and managerial ideas as well as
fortifying the operational organization and management, PetroChina is
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committed to meeting its operational targets and continuing to deliver
satisfactory results to shareholders in the coming year.
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Additional information on PetroChina is available at the Company's website:
http://www.petrochina.com.cn
Issued by PetroChina Company Limited.
For further information, please contact:
Mr. Mao Zefeng, Assistant Secretary to the Board of Directors
Tel: (852) 2899 2010 Fax: (852) 2899 2390
Email: hko@petrochina.com.hk
Distributed through Hill & Knowlton Asia Ltd. For enquiries, please contact:
Ms. Helen Lam Fax: (852) 2576 1990
Tel: (852) 2894 6204 / 9277 7672 Email: helen.lam@hillandknowlton.com.hk
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
PetroChina Company Limited
Dated: January 15, 2007 By: /s/ Li Huaiqi
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Name: Li Huaiqi
Title: Company Secretary