China's largest oil and gas company, PetroChina Ltd., has announced that its profit for the first six months of 2010 increased by 29 percent as compared to 2009.

The company said that it posted profit on account of higher oil prices that helped to offset weaker margins in its refining biz.

In addition, the Beijing-based company said that the revenue in the first six months of this year was 65.3 billion yuan ($9.6 billion), up from of 50.5 billion yuan compared to 2009.

PetroChina, which is the world’s second most valuable oil and gas producer after Exxon Mobil, has reported a 23.5 per cent drop in its quarterly net profit due to the international downfall in crude oil prices.

According to a statement given by Shanghai Stock Exchange, the company’s net profit for July-September period has dropped from 40.3 billion yuan in previous year to 30.8 billion yuan this year.