China’s biggest oil and gas producer PetroChina said it would adjust its previously approved capital expenditure (CAPEX) for this year as Chinese state oil majors join other oil firms in the world in cutting capital budgets amid cratering oil prices and oil demand. For the first time in years, PetroChina avoided disclosing a firm budget estimate for 2020 in its annual 2019 results release , which showed that its 2019 net profit dropped by 13.9 percent on the year, worse than analyst expectations. Previously, PetroChina had approved 2020 CAPEX of US$41.7 billion (295 billion Chinese yuan), which is now no longer valid. “Considering the impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) and changes in international oil prices, the Group will follow the principle of positive free cash flow, dynamically optimize and adjust the capital expenditures for 2020,” the Chinese giant said in a statement. PetroChina has created an anti-COVID-19 steering […]