"Three Oil Giants" 2025 "Report Card" Announced: China National Petroleum Corporation Leads with a daily profit of 430 million yuan, Sinopec at the bottom

Ask AI · Why does CNOOC maintain the highest net profit margin even when oil prices decline?

China National Radio Network Beijing, March 30 (Reporter Wan Yuhang) Following the release of China National Petroleum Corporation’s 2025 annual report on the evening of March 29, the performance “report cards” of the three major domestic oil companies (hereinafter referred to as the “Three Big Oil”) for last year have been fully disclosed.

The financial reports show that amid international oil prices fluctuating and trending downward, the “Three Big Oil” collectively achieved approximately 3.112 trillion yuan in net attributable profits, earning about 8.5 million yuan per day. Due to differences in their business structures, the performance of the three companies shows clear divergence: China National Petroleum Corporation, with the most balanced industrial chain, continues to lead; China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), focused on upstream operations, maintains a high profit margin; and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), with a higher proportion of downstream businesses, faces greater pressure, with its net profit experiencing a significant decline.

China National Petroleum Corporation (601857) reported that in 2025, the company achieved operating revenue of 2.86 trillion yuan, a decrease of 2.5% year-on-year; net attributable profit was 157.318 billion yuan, down 4.5% year-on-year. The company stated that the decline in operating revenue in 2025 was mainly due to the combined effects of falling prices of crude oil, refined oil, and other oil and gas products, as well as changes in sales volumes. Although this was the first time in the past five years that the company’s net attributable profit showed negative growth, its daily profit of 4.3 million yuan still kept it firmly at the top among the “Three Big Oil.” The company demonstrated strong resilience during the oil price downturn, mainly thanks to its balanced layout across upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors, which effectively hedges risks from any single segment. For example, the natural gas sales segment performed exceptionally well, with an operating profit of 60.802 billion yuan in 2025, an increase of 12.6%.

CNOOC (600938) achieved operating revenue of 398.22 billion yuan and net attributable profit of 122.082 billion yuan in 2025. Because its oil and gas sales business accounts for a high proportion of revenue, CNOOC’s performance is more sensitive to fluctuations in international oil prices. In 2025, driven by factors such as ample supply, expectations of economic growth, geopolitical tensions, and monetary policy adjustments, international oil prices generally showed a trend of fluctuation and decline. The average Brent crude oil price in 2025 was USD 68.2 per barrel, down 14.6% year-on-year. Despite an 11.49% year-on-year decrease in net profit due to falling oil prices, its net profit margin of 30.67% remained the highest among the “Three Big Oil,” highlighting its strong profitability. The company’s total net production of oil and gas reached 777.3 million barrels of oil equivalent, up 7% year-on-year, setting a new historical high.

Sinopec (600028) reported that in 2025, its operating revenue reached 2.78 trillion yuan, with a net attributable profit of 31.809 billion yuan, a sharp decline of 36.78% year-on-year. As China’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical enterprise, Sinopec’s downstream business accounts for a high proportion, and it was most affected by the multiple shocks caused by the decline in international oil prices—such as inventory impairments, excess chemical capacity, and weak demand. Among these, the chemical segment recorded an operating loss of 14.578 billion yuan, becoming the main factor dragging down overall performance.

In the context of the global energy transition, the “Three Big Oil” accelerated their deployment of new energy businesses in 2025, making substantial progress in green and low-carbon transformation.

China National Petroleum Corporation stated that it has continuously improved its new energy layout, building key wind and solar power projects in areas such as the Tarim Basin’s upper storehouse in Xinjiang and Altay in Xinjiang, and investing in State Grid Xinyuan Company to develop pumped-storage hydropower. In 2025, wind and solar power generation reached 7.93 billion kWh, an increase of 68.0% year-on-year; the area of newly signed geothermal district heating contracts exceeded 100 million square meters; and it completed 2.664 million tons of carbon dioxide utilization, up 40.3%.

Sinopec is actively building an integrated energy service provider focusing on “oil, gas, hydrogen, and electricity for service,” accelerating the deployment of refueling and charging/swapping networks. In 2025, its vehicle LNG sales increased by 74% year-on-year; charging and swapping electricity volume increased by 182%; hydrogen refueling volumes also grew significantly; and its LNG refueling and hydrogen refueling businesses remain the leading nationwide.

CNOOC also made frequent moves in the new energy sector. By the end of 2025, the company had secured more than 11 million kW of new energy resources and put over 1.08 million kW into operation. The deep-sea floating wind power project “Haiyou Guanlan” operated steadily, and China’s first offshore CCUS demonstration project was successfully put into use at the Enping 15-1 oilfield.

Looking ahead to 2026, the “Three Big Oil” have all set clear development goals. China National Petroleum Corporation stated it will aim to “become a world-class, sustainable, comprehensive energy and chemical enterprise,” developing new productive forces according to local conditions and accelerating the development of emerging industries such as new energy and new materials. CNOOC has set its 2026 production target at 780–800 million barrels of oil equivalent and will continue to promote reserve increases and production growth. Sinopec proposed that it will focus on quality and efficiency upgrades, continuously optimize its industrial structure, and accelerate building an integrated energy service provider for “oil, gas, hydrogen, and electricity.” It will promote the green, high-end, and intelligent transformation of its refining and chemical operations, while strengthening cost control to restore and improve operational performance. Notably, recent escalations of geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East have driven a sharp rise in international oil prices; CNOOC executives stated that the increase in oil prices is broadly beneficial to the company, and related benefits will gradually be reflected.