Shanghai, Feb 1, 2026, 03:24 (GMT+8) — Market closed
- On Friday, PetroChina’s Class A shares on the Shanghai exchange closed 1.2% higher, finishing at 11.02 yuan.
- Traders are reacting to a report that China National Petroleum Corporation plans to restart part of its Dalian refinery to handle discounted Russian crude.
- All eyes on oil trends and macro signals next week, as OPEC+ meets Sunday and new China activity data rolls in.
PetroChina A shares (601857) closed Friday at 11.02 yuan, gaining 1.19% after dipping as low as 10.74 yuan and rising to 11.15 yuan during the day. The Shanghai index, meanwhile, dropped roughly 1% in the session.
The stock has reappeared on the oil tape. Investors are watching two key factors: any shifts in the company’s refining outlook, and if crude’s recent rally can sustain momentum into next week.
The focus on refining intensified after sources revealed CNPC is gearing up to restart a 200,000-barrel-per-day crude distillation unit at its Dalian refinery, offline since July. The move, still under wraps, involves tapping into discounted Russian-linked crude and hinges on approval from China’s National Development and Reform Commission, the sources added.
State oil giants usually track crude and policy news closely. Still, attention will turn to whether this signals a wider trend affecting peers like Sinopec and CNOOC, whose upstream and downstream operations differ significantly.
Crude markets look crowded in the near term. Prices have held above $70 a barrel, buoyed by ongoing U.S.-Iran tensions. OPEC+ officials indicated they will probably maintain their freeze on output increases at their Sunday meeting.
Aside from weekend headline risks, forecasters continue to expect a market dominated by surplus barrels. A Reuters poll put Brent at an average of $62.02 a barrel in 2026, with U.S. crude seen at $58.72, despite Brent trading near $70 on Jan. 30. Julius Baer’s Norbert Ruecker described the oil market as “in a lasting surplus,” while Cyrus De La Rubia of Hamburg Commercial Bank suggested OPEC+ will likely “defend a price floor.” Reuters
Macro factors weigh on PetroChina bulls. China’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI), a key monthly gauge of business activity, dipped to 49.3 in January from 50.1, slipping into contraction territory. The non-manufacturing PMI fell to 49.4. Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura, warned that “Beijing will have to do much more” in the months ahead to keep annual growth above 4.5% in 2026. Investors are also eyeing the private-sector RatingDog PMI, set for release on Feb. 2. Reuters
This could get complicated fast. The Dalian restart still requires regulatory sign-off and might be delayed. A rebound in discounted crude shipments risks clashing with evolving sanctions enforcement or shipping bottlenecks. Plus, crude prices could easily lose ground if the geopolitical premium eases or OPEC+ throws the market a curveball.
PetroChina A shares start trading again Monday. The Shanghai market then pauses from Feb. 15 to 23 for the Spring Festival, reopening on Feb. 24 — a schedule likely to influence liquidity and positioning early in the month.
