The U.S. Department of Justice has fined PetroChina $14.5 million after a five-year investigation revealed the company violated U.S. export laws.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas stated that PetroChina reported inaccurate information in the Automated Export System. This electronic database is used by exporters to declare international exports from the United States.
PetroChina misclassified over $32 million worth of ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel as mineral oil mix for certain export transactions to Mexico in 2019 and 2020. This misclassification led to the allegations and subsequent fine.
The company has agreed to pay the fine and has fully cooperated with the investigation. The probe began in 2019 when U.S. authorities were alerted by their Mexican counterparts about discrepancies in the import documents of a Panamanian-flagged tanker.
PetroChina, a state-owned integrated oil corporation, recently became the second-largest company in China by market value, surpassing the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Bloomberg reported in April that PetroChina’s stock soared by 42% since the beginning of the year, reaching a market value of approximately $244 billion. This increase was driven by higher oil prices that boosted energy stocks worldwide.
PetroChina also benefited from a strong recovery in domestic crude oil demand, leading to record profits and dividend payouts, which increased the stock’s attractiveness. In April, the company reported a net income of $22.3 billion (161 billion Chinese yuan) for 2023, an 8.3% increase from the previous year. This surge was due to recovering domestic consumption of refined petroleum products and a rise in natural gas demand, marking a record high for the company.