You know, it's funny. With the intent of keeping a lid on inflation, government policy in China has been to mandate a limit on retail gasoline and diesel prices. These price controls have allowed fuel demand to flourish. That's just one of the forces behind -- you guessed it -- persistent inflation.
OK, that's actually not so funny.
PetroChina
Exploration and production activities naturally generated a sound profit in 2007, but these profits don't sit so well with the Party. You may recall that Sasol
The refining and marketing business lost a bundle, just like last year. PetroChina's chairman estimates that the segment breaks even somewhere below $70 per barrel, so the company is burning buckets of money as it runs its refineries.
Here's a further frustration. China Petroleum & Chemical
This company appears to be in a pretty tough spot. While PetroChina is a well-run company with intriguing ambitions, Petrobras