PetroChina, China's biggest listed oil company by assets, expected the supply and demand for global oil market would gradually become balanced in 2017 and international oil prices would "recover," the company said late Wednesday in a profits warning for the 2016 annual result.
The company said its net profit attributable to equity holders for the year of 2016 was estimated to decrease by 70% to 80% as compared with the Yuan 35.65 billion ($5.18 billion) reported in 2015.
PetroChina attributed the deep drop to the substantial decrease in oil prices in 2016 due to fundamental oversupply.
Meanwhile, the price of domestic natural gas also declined drastically from 2015.
PetroChina is expected to release its annual results in March.
