(Yicai Global) July 2 -- PetroChina and Sinopec, two of China’s biggest oil and gas majors, returned to profit in the first half of this year amid surging crude oil prices.

Net profit at PetroChina was likely between CNY45 billion and CNY60 billion (USD6.9 billion and USD9.3 billion) in the six months ended June 30, it said in a filing yesterday. The firm lost CNY30 billion in the same period last year.

Sinopec, officially known as China Petroleum and Chemical, expects to have made CNY36.5 billion to CNY38.5 billion, versus a year-earlier loss of CNY22.9 billion.

The Beijing-based companies attributed the earnings rebound to a strong upturn in oil prices as the global economy slowly recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. Benchmark Brent oil futures have gained about 48 percent since the beginning of the year.

Focused on exploration, PetroChina benefits more from higher oil prices than Sinopec, which is mainly involved in the refining and chemicals businesses.

The pair also said first-half net income was higher than in the first six months of 2019, before the Covid-19 outbreak. Earrings were up by between 58 percent and 111 percent at PetroChina, and between 16.6 percent and 23 percent at Sinopec.

Amid a wider stock market retreat today, the shares of both firms fell. PetroChina [SHA:601857] edged 0.2 percent lower, while Sinopec [SHA:600028] dipped 0.5 percent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gave up almost 2 percent.

Editor: Futura Costaglione