Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am Wu Enlai, Board Secretary of PetroChina, and also speaking on behalf of PetroChina. I Welcome you to our 2019 annual results announcement. Due to the epidemic, today the conference is held via telecom. Now, please allow me to introduce the board of management members here. Mr. Huang Yongzhang. Mr. Duan Liangwei, Executive Director and President. Mr. Li Luguang, Vice President. Mr. Chai Shouping, CFO. Mr. Ling Xiao, Vice President. Mr. Yang Jigang, Vice President. The announcement includes four parts. First, a review of the financial performance in 2019. Second, operational performance overview in 2019 and outlook for 2020. Third, remarks by Chairman and Q&A. Now, the floor will be given to Mr. Chai for a financial review in 2019.
Thank you, Mr. Wu. Hello, everyone. I'm Chai Shouping, CFO of PetroChina.
Now, I will walk you through the company's financial performance in 2019. In 2019, the company realized revenue of RMB 2.52 trillion, up 6% year-on-year. Operating profit: RMB 121.762 billion, down 1% year-on-year. Net profit attributed to the parent company shareholder: RMB 45.682 billion, down 13.9% year-on-year. EPS: RMB 0.25, down RMB 0.04 year-on-year. The company, based on conventional group price trend factors and business operations, continuously optimized investment structure. In 2019, CapEx was RMB 296.776 billion, up 15.9% year-on-year. Generally reasonable and under control. As the important ground for the company's growth, E&P remains a focus of investment. CapEx for E&P reached RMB 230.117 billion, adding up 77.54% of the total and up 0.97% of price. The company aimed for low-cost development and strove to achieve cost-down profit targets. Main costs were well under control.
In 2019, the company realized net income of $12.11 per barrel, down 1.6% year-on-year. Refining per unit cash cost: RMB 168.64 per ton, flat year-on-year. Per ton marketing cost: RMB 330.76, up 2.5% year-on-year due to DD&A, freight, staffing costs, and sales all up. The company properly arranged investment, strengthened asset management, and optimized debt structure. The financial status was sound in general. By December 31st, 2019, the company realized total assets: RMB 2.73 trillion , up 12% versus the end of last year. Debt-to-asset ratio: 47.2%, up 4.9 percentage points versus the last year. Excluding effective new leasing principle, it went up 1.3 percentage points versus the end of last year. Gearing ratio: 24.4%, up 1.7 percentage points versus the end of 2018. The company took cash flow management seriously. The FCF was RMB 39.924 billion .
The cash flow from operating activities reached RMB 359.6 billion , up RMB 6.354 billion , or 1.8%. FCF: RMB 39.924 billion , down 53.5% year-on-year. Resources because there was high input in E&P and higher cash CapEx. We will continue to improve capital management and keep a generally healthy cash flow to underpin the company's development. In 2019, E&P segment realized an operating profit: RMB 96.097 billion , up 30.7%. E&P remained a major profit driver. Due to price changes in oil, gas, and other products, profit went down by RMB 14.015 billion . Average realized oil price: $50.96 per barrel, down 10.7% year-on-year. Due to sales changes in oil, gas, and other products, profit grew up by RMB 28.05 billion . In this part, crude sales hiked and increased profit by RMB 18.76 billion . Gas sales went up and increased profit by RMB 8.657 billion .
Due to lower operating expenses and others, profit grew by RMB 8.543 billion. Due to smaller DD&A and asset impairment, profit up by RMB 10.748 billion. Due to smaller taxes apart from income tax, profit went up by RMB 5.18 billion. Due to less SG&A cost, profit up by RMB 2.477 billion. Due to higher purchase expenses, profit down RMB 10.696 billion. In 2019, refining segment realized an operating profit: RMB 13.764 billion, down 69.2% year-on-year. Refining segment operating profit: RMB 10.57 billion, down RMB 26.54 billion. Due to lower gross profit, profit down by RMB 33.64 billion. Due to higher refining volume, profit up by RMB 3.489 billion. Due to lower other expenses, profit up by RMB 6.04 billion. Due to cost history and a cost down, profit went up RMB 1.57 billion. Provision for asset impairment was lower year-on-year. Profit grew by RMB 1.14 billion.
Chemicals business saw an operating profit: RMB 3.427 billion, down RMB 4.396 billion. Due to chemical product price changes, profit down RMB 2.518 billion. Due to chemical sales changes, profit up RMB 18.22 billion. Due to low operating expenses, profit up RMB 2.583 billion. Because SG&A fees went down, profit up by RMB 1.559 billion. Provision for asset impairment went down, profit up RMB 0.844 billion. In 2019, the marketing segment saw a loss of RMB 0.565 billion. The loss down by RMB 5.885 billion. Due to oversupply of refined oil and fierce competition in China, low price realization rate and our efforts for company-by-market oriented pricing slowly reached RMB 6.5 billion, down RMB 5.276 billion. Due to higher gross profit, profit up RMB 4.855 billion. Due to higher sales, profit up RMB 0.874 billion. Due to high operating expenses, profit down RMB 0.453 billion.
International trade saw an operating profit: RMB 5.935 billion, up RMB 0.609 billion year-on-year. In 2019, our natural gas and pipeline segment saw an operating profit: RMB 26.108 billion, up 2.3% year-on-year. Gas marketing business saw a loss of RMB 15.139 billion, losses up by RMB 46 million. Domestic average city gate price: RMB 1.82 per cubic meter, up 4.5% year-on-year. Domestic gas profit: RMB 14.67 billion, up RMB 5.757 billion. Imported gas and LNG net loss: RMB 30.71 billion, up RMB 5.803 billion. Pipeline and transmission business profit: RMB 36.99 billion, up RMB 0.27 billion. City gas business profit: RMB 15.73 billion, profit up 0.06 billion. Due to high operating expenses, profit down RMB 0.23 billion. The company values return for shareholders and keeps a stable dividend payout ratio. Policy since 2016.
As low oil prices linger, the company pays 45% IFRS-based net profit attributable to parent company shareholders plus special dividend as return for shareholders. To bring better returns on the shareholders, the board recommends a year-end dividend: RMB 0.06601 per share. Dividend payout ratio: 70%. It includes 45% of IFRS-based net profit attributable to parent company shareholders: RMB 0.04243 per share and special dividend: RMB 0.02358 per share. Next, let's welcome Mr. Duan Liangwei, Executive Director and President of PetroChina for a performance overview in 2019 and outlook for 2020.
Thank you, Mr. Chai. I am the new President elected in March. Now, I'll brief you on the company's performance in 2019 and outlook for 2020. In 2019, the company faced bigger economic downward pressure, volatile international oil prices, and fierce competition in domestic oil and gas markets.
PetroChina is committed to firm growth through more efforts in optimized production, structural adjustments, reform and innovations, risk management, and programs for cost down and profit up. As a result, main production indices saw stable growth, and operation performance was within expected range. In 2019, the company's main production indices saw stable growth, and operation performance was within expected range. We increased efforts in domestic E&P and enhanced reserves and production. We deepened international cooperation and saw steady progress in overseas business. We aim for less low-value refined products and more chemicals, with steady progress in the transformation of refining and chemicals business. We explore markets for refined products and saw growth in refined oil sales. We expanded end-user market to enhance profits. Gas and pipeline transmission business was sound. Domestic exploration and production were enhanced, with increased reserves and output.
In 2019, we made breakthroughs in domestic reef exploration, concentrated exploration in key areas, and fine exploration in the eastern area, forming several uncompartmentalized results, including: Southern Junggar Basin saw high yield oil and gas flow of more than 1,000 cubic meters a day. This is a historical exploration breakthrough in the basin and a likely large-scale reservoir. The Triassic source rocks on the Ordos Basin have discovered reserves of over 1 billion tonnes of oil, with 0.358 billion tonnes of proven geological reserves and 0.653 billion tonnes of predicted geological reserves, showing a great prospect of exploration in the Ordos Basin. Tarim Basin saw major discoveries in several tracts and found large-scale oil and gas reservoirs, likely to form a new 1 trillion cubic meter scale gas area after the current Chongqing area.
Southern Sichuan Basin saw big achievements in the shale gas exploration with new proven reserves. Proven geological reserves: 740.97 bcm recoverable reserves, 178.4 bcm, forming a 1 trillion cubic meter shale gas reserve. Several shale gas wells more than 3,500 meters deep have gained industrial gas flow, showing a good prospect of medium-deep shale gas. New discoveries in Sichuan Basin brought new prospects for developing the reserves at scale. New discoveries of tight gas exploration in Qiulin, Sichuan, showing the prospect of tight gas E&P in the Xujiahe formation in Sichuan, southwest China. In 2019, the company strove to stabilize production of mature fields and accelerate production in key areas such as Changqing, Tarim, Xinjiang, and southwest regions. Crude output was balanced, and gas output recorded a five-year high. Oil and gas equivalent output in Changqing oil field exceeded 57 million tonnes, with over 40 bcm of gas.
Xinjiang Oilfield crude output climbed by one million tonnes, up 8.7%, hitting a record high. Shale gas output in the Southwest Oil and Gas Field increased 2.6 bcm and increased over 116%. Crude output of Daqing Oilfield reached 30.9 million tonnes. The annual decline narrowed by around two million tonnes since 2015 to 1.14 million tonnes. We deepened international cooperation and saw steady progress in overseas business. In 2019, the company engaged in bilateral and multilateral events to deepen international cooperation. We signed an MoU to expand cooperation with Kazakhstan and the contract for extension of Oman Block 5. Our risk and role in exploration overseas has seen key progress. Junggar Basin and Ordos Basin are likely to be two prospects with more than 100 million tonnes reserves each. In Bohai Bay Basin, a prospect with 50 million tonnes of reserves was unveiled.
Multiple discoveries were made in natural gas exploration areas of PK and Aktobe in Kazakhstan. Steady progress was seen in key projects: Chad project Phase 2.2 and Halfaya phase III came on stream. Rumaila in Iraq and Aktobe in Kazakhstan operated beyond plan. In 2019, the company realized crude output: 0.91 billion barrels, up 2.1%. Domestic crude output: 0.74 billion barrels, up 0.8% year-on-year. Marketable gas output: 3.9 trillion cubic feet, up 8.3% year-on-year. Domestic gas output: 3.6 trillion cubic feet, up 9.3% year-on-year. Oil and gas equivalent output: 1.56 billion barrels, up 4.6%. Overseas oil and gas equivalent output: 0.22 billion barrels, accounting for 13.8% of the company's total, up 5.7%. We aim for less low-value refined products and more chemicals. With steady progress in the transformation of refining and chemicals business, the company optimized reserves and location and properly arranged utilization rates for traditional refineries.
We realized crude run: 1.228 billion barrels, up 4.1% year-on-year. We produced refined oil: 0.118 billion tonnes, up 6% year-on-year. Gasoline up 10.1%, kerosene up 15.6%, diesel up 0.6%. We optimized product mix and reduced diesel-gasoline ratio to 1.08. In 2019, we produced chemical product: 25.756 million tonnes, up 5.5% year-on-year. Ethylene output: 5.863 million tonnes. If excluding the effect from overhauled refineries, the production was basically in full capacity. We saw early results of the model for less low-value refined products and more chemicals. Huabei Petrochemical plant refining was completed and put on stream. Steady progress was made in Guangdong Petrochemical and the structural reform of Daqing Petrochemical Company. Ethane-to-ethylene projects in Tarim and Changqing were accelerated. We explored markets for refined products and saw growth in refined oil sales.
The company faced challenges of supply and field competition, mobilized resources in China and abroad, and increased efforts in fine, strategic, and differentiated marketing. In 2019, the company realized refined oil sales: 0.188 billion tonnes, up 5.1% year-on-year. Gasoline sales: up 0.4%, kerosene up 2.7%, diesel up 3.8%. Refined oil sales in China: 0.119 billion tonnes, up 2.3%. Gasoline sales: up 2.5%, diesel: up 6.4%, kerosene: down 6.1%. We worked on sales network building occupied locations in premium markets and strategic areas. The number of service stations rose to 22,365, up 582 year-on-year. International trade exceeded 0.4 billion tonnes, up 27.4% year-on-year. We expanded end-user market to enhance profits and the gas and pipeline transmission business. Was formed. We worked to develop a system of gas production supply, storage, and marketing, promote contract-based gas sales, and implemented national price policies to drive market-based prices and higher profits.
In 2019, we realized gas sales for 159 bcm, up 19.5%. Gas sales in China: 171.4 bcm, up 7.4%. We carried out the three-year action plan for end-user market development and made progress in collaboration with Heilongjiang, Xinjiang, and cities of Wuhan, Yichang. A batch of projects in prefecture cities were delivered. We optimized pipeline network operation with enhanced safety management. Phased progress was made in reducing existing risks. We pushed forward key engineering construction projects. The northern part of China-Russia East Gas Pipeline Heihe-Changchun section came on stream. So did another 21 connectivity projects. We strengthened S&T innovation to improve growth momentum. In 2019, the company promoted S&T innovation . Breakthroughs were made in E&P technologies on large conglomerates and deep marine carbonates, etc. The refining and chemicals technologies on large ethylene projects and new products of high-value added synthetic materials were improved.
We conducted advanced basic science and applied fundamental researches to support major engineering construction and production operations. To address the difficulty of developing the huge, big, complex carbonate reservoirs in the Middle East, we developed efficient theories and technologies supporting the growth of crude output by 90 times in the region over the past decade. Our efficiency carbonate project, which operates under complex conditions in the Middle East with a capacity of 100 million tonnes, was awarded first prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award . The invention of the Brittleness Index unit for rock brittleness evaluation is the bottleneck for continental shale oil production in China and improves the detection of accuracy of rock brittleness under complex geological conditions, which was awarded the gold prize in the China Patent Award. We paid close attention to safety accountability and saw a better HSE situation.
In 2019, the company saw zero week or above excellence in oil production. Emission of COD went down 4.9%, ammonia and nitrogen down 13.4%, sulfur dioxide down 9.8%, NOx down 7.9% year-on-year. Energy conservation was achieved 128% of the target, water conservation 120% of the target. Next, the outlook for 2020. We actively respond to the COVID-19 epidemic and following oil crisis. Made an action plan in 2020 to improve quality and efficiency. We will optimize investment structure for higher returns, strengthen industrial value chain coordination, and improve financial operations to create benefits and control costs. We will further implement performance-based remuneration, seek momentum from Sci-Tech, drive market-based reform to ensure smooth production operation and healthy financial status. E&P segment will make more efforts on exploration. We prioritize the construction of production capacity projects based on efficiency assessments and strive to increase economic recoverable reserves and profitable output.
Refining and chemicals segment will focus on transformation and upgrading, produce less low-value refined products and more chemicals, support key projects underway, and prepare new projects with staggered schedules. Marketing segment will focus on developing premium markets, optimize service station construction, eyeing the market change to increase the nozzle sales of refined oil. Natural gas and pipeline segment will ensure the construction of key pipe network projects and continue to develop the natural gas market and terminal facilities to improve the value of gas chain. We are working on a plan of linkage with oil prices. We will follow our principles to focus on key projects, realize cost down and profit up, make ends meet, and be foresighted for solutions. Based on that, we will optimize the business development and investment plan in 2020.
Ladies and gentlemen, in 2020, the company will continue to deepen reform and innovation, improve corporate value, strive to be a first-class international energy company, and bring better returns to shareholders. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. President. Now let's have Mr. Dai, our Chairman, to deliver remarks.
Ladies and gentlemen, friends, good afternoon. For COVID-19 prevention and control, we choose to announce the 2019 annual results through teleconference. First, on behalf of PetroChina, I warmly welcome all of you joining this meeting. Thank you for the long-time attention and support to PetroChina from our investors and analysts, and I wish you our best wishes in spring. Yesterday, we convened the shareholders' meeting on which the resolution on adding new directors of PetroChina was passed. On the board meeting afterwards, Chairman and Vice Chairman of PetroChina were elected, and a new President was appointed.
During the convening of the shareholders' meeting and board meeting, I received letters from shareholders. They expressed support to the board of directors and also proposed very good suggestions on issues faced by PetroChina. Taking this opportunity, I wish to express my sincere gratitude again. Just now, the management has briefed you on our annual result in the past year. Our oil and gas business continued to show good momentum of growth with domestic oil production increase. Gas production registered the highest growth rate in the past five years. Risk exploration made key breakthroughs both home and abroad. Resource base further cemented, and financial status remained sound. Since this year, the oil and gas market saw abrupt changes, which aroused great concern of all walks of life. The COVID-19 has spread worldwide.
Global oil and gas consumption demand is slowing down remarkably. Especially, international oil prices plummeted recently, deteriorating oil companies' operational pressure. However, we take comfort to see that there is positive change in China's epidemic prevention and control situation. The Chinese government's work and production restoration measures are paying off. Economic and social development is accelerating recovery. The oil and gas market demand is climbing gradually. The board and management of PetroChina will forge ahead to handle the risks and difficulties and endeavor to render better performance. We'll focus more on strategy guidance. In resolutely implementing resources strategy, we will conduct efficient exploration in improving exploration success rate, adding scale recoverable reserves to consolidate resources base. We'll figure prominently the efficient development and maintain a generally steady production of oil and relatively fast growth of gas production.
In resolutely implementing market strategy, we'll be customer-centered and market-oriented, targeting at maximizing shareholders' value. We will speed up refining and chemicals transformation and upgrading, optimize crude sales for reduce feedstock costs, be more competitive on basic chemicals, and vigorously develop high-end and specialty fine chemicals. We'll strengthen building the end-user's capacity for oil and gas marketing to ensure value realized across the industrial chain. In resolutely implementing internationalization strategy, we'll have a quality operation of existing projects, make more efforts in developing new projects, keep optimizing strategic layout and asset structure, and enhance international operation level and capabilities. In resolutely implementing innovation strategy, we will make more research input, tackle key technological problems, improve innovation capability, and give full play of science and technologies underpinning and leading role. We'll focus more on green and low-carbon development.
We'll continue to strengthen the building of gas production supply storage and marketing system, improve diversified gas supply, promote scale and effective development of shale gas, show up gas storage peak shaving capability as soon as possible, maintain the fast-growing momentum of gas business. We will accelerate the study on new energy and alternative energy business layout, keep up efforts on tackling key technological problems and capacity building for solar, wind, hydrogen, biomass, and geothermal energies in the bid to build a green and sustainable energy enterprise. We'll focus more on digital transformation and smart development.
We'll vigorously promote the deep convergence of IT and all our businesses, speed up the industrial application technologies such as AI, big data, Internet of Things in the oil and gas business, proceed with the building of IT system and cognitive computing platform, keep improving digitalization and intelligentialization, build smart oil and gas fields, smart refineries, and smart gas stations in an orderly way. We'll take digital translation as an opportunity to push forward the modernization of corporate governance system and governance capability. We'll focus more on value creation. In face of the low oil price challenge coupled with COVID-19, we're carrying out quality and efficiency enhancement across the board. Dealing with market fluctuation head-on, we optimize production and operation, adjust production capacity building pace, optimize resources allocation and product mix, make more efforts in marketing, improve internal management, and strictly control costs and expenditure.
We pay high attention to the changes in capital market, intensify corporate value management, enhance corporate growth potential, and value creation capability, and bring bigger value for our shareholders. Ladies and gentlemen, it has been 20 years since PetroChina's entry into the capital market. Looking back, our shareholders, colleagues, and friends of the capital market and the media have been proceeding with us shoulder to shoulder despite all difficulties. Looking ahead, I wish you will continue to care and support our development. We look forward to pressing ahead with you for embracing splendor and share the value and achievements from PetroChina's growth. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.