Sinopec’s earnings fell last year as Covid restrictions pinched fuel demand, the company said in an exchange filing. 

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, as it is officially known, posted net income of 66.2 billion yuan (S$12.8 billion) for 2022, according to international financial reporting standards. That compared with a near-record profit of 72 billion yuan a year earlier, the company said in an exchange filing on Sunday (Mar 26). 

Covid Zero restrictions reduced road and air traffic in China last year, hurting the performance of the company’s leading refining and chemical units. 

Sinopec plans to add 165.8 billion yuan in capital expenditure this year, after it reported spending 189.1 billion yuan for 2022. The company had targeted record capital expenditures of 198 billion yuan last year.

To compensate for the increased cost of drilling and petrochemical facilities, the firm has been lobbying authorities for higher export quotas to take advantage of stronger diesel margins overseas. Bloomberg