China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), one of the nation's two leading onshore oil producers, plans to pump 291 million barrels of crude oil and 282.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas in 2007, company sources said on Wednesday.

Crude output will be two percent higher than in 2006, and natural gas production up 10 percent.

The Shanghai- and New York-listed company, also a major oil refiner, will process 156 million tons of crude oil this year. It will distribute 117 million tons of oil products and retail 75 million tons. Its production of synthetic resin, synthetic rubber and synthetic fiber will likely reach 19.13 million tons.

The sources said this year the company hoped to shave 2.6 billion yuan (US$337.7 million) off its costs.

Sinopec reported net profits up 28 percent to 50.7 billion yuan (US$6.6 billion) last year in its annual report released on Tuesday.

The company's earnings per share stood at 0.58 yuan, with earnings against assets at 19.9 percent.

Income on major business amounted to 1.04 trillion yuan (US$136 billion), up 31 percent.

The company produced 285 million barrels of crude oil, up 2.3 percent year-on-year, and 257 billion cubic feet of natural gas, a company source said.

In 2006, Sinopec ranked third in the world in terms of oil refining capacity, fourth in ethylene production and third in the number of gas stations, said chairman Chen Tonghai. Sinopec operates 28,000 independent gas stations in China.

Last year Sinopec discovered an extra large natural gas field in southwest China's Sichuan Province. Industry observers believe this will boost the company's performance.

Chen said in 2006 Sinopec processed 146 million tons of crude oil, up 4.6 percent from the previous year. Rising international crude oil prices meant that the company incurred a 20 yuan (2.6 U.S. dollars) per ton loss on its refining business last year.

Earlier reports said China's petrochemical industry made 438 billion yuan (US$57 billion) of profits in 2006, a growth of 187 percent over the previous year.

(Xinhua News Agency April 12, 2007)