China's crude oil output hit 93.49 million tons in the first half, a decrease of 1 percent year on year, according to the country's economic planner on Thursday.

China's crude oil output hit 190 mln tons in 2008 China's refineries processed 175.13 million tons of crude oil in the first half, up 1.5 percent from the same period last year, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a report on its website.

Gas production reached 42 billion cubic meters, an increase of 7.6 percent year on year. The growth rate was 9.7 percentage points lower than the same period last year.

In the first five months, China's petroleum and petrochemical industry reported profits of 94.7 billion yuan (US$13.9 billion), down 35.4 percent over the same period last year, according to the report.

Oil and gas exploration industry saw profits drop 75.8 percent from a year earlier to stand at 49.4 billion yuan in the first half.

(Xinhua News Agency July 23, 2009)