Businessweek

PetroChina Company Limited engages in the production and sale of oil and gas in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). The company engages in a range of petroleum and natural gas related activities, including the exploration, development, production and sale of crude oil and natural gas; the refining of crude oil and petroleum products, as well as the production and marketing of basic petrochemical products, derivative chemical products and other chemical products; the marketing and trading of refined oil products; and the transmission of natural gas, crude oil and refined oil products as well as the sale of natural gas. Exploration and Production The company engages in crude oil and natural gas exploration, development and production. All of its total estimated proved crude oil and natural gas reserves are located in China, principally in northeastern, northern, southwestern, and northwestern China. It holds exploration and exploitation licenses for oil and gas (including coal seam gas) covering a total area of approximately 457.9 million acres, consisting of the exploration licenses covering a total area of approximately 435.8 million acres and the exploitation licenses covering a total area of approximately 22.1 million acres. The company’s estimated proved reserves, as of December 31, 2011, totaled approximately 11,128.2 million barrels of crude oil and approximately 66,653.0 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas. Exploration and Development The company conducts exploration and development activities in 12 provinces, 2 municipalities under the direct administration of the central government and 3 autonomous regions in China, as well as in certain regions in other countries. The company had 445 wells in the process of being drilled and 9,146 wells with multiple completions, as of December 31, 2011. Principal Oil and Gas Regions Daqing Oil Region: The Daqing oil region is located in the Songliao basin and covers an area of approximately one million acres. As of December 31, 2011, the company produced crude oil from 37 fields in the Daqing oil region. Xinjiang Oil Region: The Xinjiang oil region is a crude oil producing property and is located in the Junggar basin in northwestern China. The Xinjiang oil region covers a total area of approximately 900,000 acres. Sichuan Gas Region: The Sichuan gas region covers a total area of approximately 2.3 million acres. As of December 31, 2011, the company had 109 natural gas fields under development in the Sichuan gas region. Changqing Oil and Gas Region: The Changqing oil and gas region covers parts of Shaanxi Province and Gansu Province and the Ningxia and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regions. Tarim Oil and Gas Region: The Tarim oil and gas region is located in the Tarim basin in northwestern China with a total area of approximately 590,000 acres. Refining and Chemicals The company operates 29 enterprises located in 9 provinces, 4 autonomous regions, and 3 municipalities to engage in refining of crude oil and petroleum products, as well as the production and marketing of basic petrochemical products, derivative chemical products and other chemical products. Dalian Petrochemical, Lanzhou Petrochemical, Dushanzi Petrochemical, Guangxi Petrochemical and Jilin Petrochemical are the company’s main refineries. Chemicals: Most of the company’s chemical plants are near to its refineries and are also connected with the refineries by pipelines. Its exploration and production and natural gas and pipeline operations supply substantially all of the hydrocarbon feedstock requirements for chemicals operations. As of December 31, 2011, the company’s annual ethylene production capacity was 3,710 thousand tons. The company produces synthetic resin products, including polyethylene, polypropylene and ABS. As of December 31, 2011, production capacities for polyethylene, polypropylene and ABS were 3,112 thousand tons, 3,029 thousand tons and 295 thousand tons, respectively. Marketing of Chemicals: The company’s chemical products are distributed to industries that manufacture components used in a range of applications, including automotive, construction, ele