PetroChina Trading Division Projected to Reach $3 Billion in Gross Profit for 2026

PetroChina International, the trading division of China's state-owned PetroChina, is positioned to earn more than $3 billion in gross trading profit for 2026. This projection comes as the Middle East crisis has lifted crude prices and disrupted global fuel markets and trade flows, creating exceptional results for energy trading.

While major oil and gas companies do not typically disclose individual trading profits, they have indicated that recent price spikes and the Hormuz crisis produced extraordinary outcomes across crude, fuels, and liquefied natural gas divisions. PetroChina's upstream portfolio and overseas downstream operations are capturing record-high margins, while trading activities have benefited from elevated price volatility and arbitrage opportunities.

These gains extend beyond Chinese firms to include European energy majors. TotalEnergies expects strong third-quarter results due to increased refining margins and LNG prices driven by the Middle East conflict. Meanwhile, Shell reported that its indicative refining margin for the third quarter nearly doubled sequentially to a record high of $42 per barrel, combining with strong trading results to sustain windfall profits. Norway's Equinor also anticipates unusually strong European refining margins and third-party LNG trading optimization to lift profits above $400 million.