China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), the nation's largest oil refiner, said Tuesday that it processed 86.9 million tonnes of crude oil in the first half of 2009, up 1.82 percent year-on-year, despite the economic slowdown.

Sinopec reported earlier that the amount of crude oil it refined fell 3.27 percent year on year in the first quarter.

The company, also a leading oil producer, said in a preliminary report that its crude oil output rose 1.18 percent year on year to 149.12 million barrels in the first half of 2009.

Sinopec saw gasoline output rising sharply by 21.01 percent to 16.99 million tonnes in the first half from a year earlier, the company said.

China's warming economy had contributed to the increases in its rising output, said the company.

China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7.9 percent year on year in the second quarter, after the world's third largest economy tumbled to 6.1 percent in the first three months, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

However, Sinopec's output of certain products still saw decline amid the economic slowdown.

Diesel production fell 5.4 percent from last year's level to 32.4 million tonnes in the same period, according to the company.

Also in the first half, Sinopec's natural gas production dropped by 1.12 percent to about 4 billion cubic meters from a year earlier.

Ethylene, synthetic resins, synthetic fibers and synthetic rubbers output declined by 10.1 percent, 4.19 percent, 7.64 percent and 11.09 percent respectively.

Domestic sales of refined oil products declined by 8.42 percent to 57.71 million tonnes.

Sinopec reported its net profit in the first quarter rose 85.1 percent year on year to 11.219 billion yuan (about US$1.64 billion).

The company predicted a more than 50 percent rise in net profit for the first half of 2009 because of lower international crude oil prices and adjustments in refined oil prices on the domestic market.

Listed in Hong Kong, New York, London and Shanghai, Sinopec is the listed subsidiary of China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group).

Share prices of the company in the mainland A-share market rose by 2.01 percent to 12.16 yuan on Tuesday, but down 0.93 percent in the Hong Kong market to 6.39 Hong Kong dollars.

(Xinhua News Agency July 21, 2009)