Sinopec Revenue Falls 7.6% in H1 2026 as Diesel Demand Lags Gasoline Globally
Sinopec's first-half sales drop points to widening divergence between diesel and gasoline fundamentals across global refining markets.
Sinopec reported external sales revenues of RMB806.8 billion in the first half of 2026 on Monday (2026-08-24), a 7.6% drop from the same period a year earlier. Gasoline, diesel and kerosene together accounted for RMB644.9 billion of that total, according to the company's quarterly filing.7
The revenue decline reflects a split between gasoline and diesel that has been deepening across global refining all year. Diesel and gasoil have been struggling under softer industrial demand, trading increasingly on economic fundamentals rather than geopolitical supply pressures, while gasoline has maintained stronger margins, oilprice.com reported on June 24 (2026-06-24), noting the RBOB-Brent crack at $43.04 per barrel at that point.4
NYMEX RBOB gasoline front-month fell 1.21% to $3.27 per gallon Monday (2026-08-24). NYMEX heating oil front-month shed 0.46% to $4.36 per gallon in the same session, while ICE Brent crude front-month dropped 1.03% to $92.59 per barrel. Even with both product prices lower, gasoline's relative strength against crude has persisted through the summer.
PetroChina's Q1 2026 results offered a contrasting signal on volumes. The group sold 38.533 million tons of gasoline, kerosene and diesel in the three months to March 31 (2026-03-31), up 4.8% from 36.776 million tons in Q1 2025, while its marketing business posted operating profit of RMB6.470 billion against RMB5.043 billion a year earlier, according to the company's quarterly report.5
But PetroChina's Q1 data predates the second-quarter softening that Sinopec's H1 aggregate now captures. Diesel's headline price remains historically elevated: retail diesel prices are up more than 40% from pre-war levels globally, according to Rigzone. The direction of recent quarters, though, has been one of demand-led softening rather than supply disruption.6
US refiners have been running near capacity regardless. Chevron operated domestic refineries above 97% utilization in the most recent quarter, with profit from US fuel-making reaching $2.4 billion, more than 10 times the prior quarter's return, Rigzone reported on July 31 (2026-07-31). ExxonMobil's refining profits hit a four-year high of $4.1 billion in the same period, though analysts had expected $5.37 billion. Chief Financial Officer Eimear Bonner said Chevron used the gains to reduce debt and hold more cash given volatile operating conditions.6
India cuts the other way on demand. Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp., which together control about 90% of India's retail fuel market, raised gasoline prices in New Delhi by 2.6% to 102.12 rupees ($1.07) per liter and diesel by 2.9% to 95.20 rupees per liter on Saturday, May 23 (2026-05-23). It was the fourth increase in 10 days. Cumulative hikes over that stretch totalled 7.8% for gasoline and 8.6% for diesel.2
Even after those adjustments, state retailers were selling below cost recovery, with daily losses narrowed to slightly under 6 billion rupees from 10 billion rupees before the hike cycle, according to reporting at the time. Private operators including Shell charged more than 116 rupees per liter for gasoline and more than 127 rupees for diesel. Demand kept rising: Indian Oil reported diesel sales at its retail outlets up 18% in the first 22 days of May compared with a year earlier, with gasoline volumes up 14%.2
Europe faced a different supply constraint. The British government's decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel and jet fuel, reported by Energy Voice on May 25 (2026-05-25), exposed the extent of UK dependence on fuel imports and the near absence of ready alternatives when supply chains tighten. The move drew sharp political criticism given its timing.1
US diesel economics carried an additional cost layer. Compliance credits for biomass-based diesel and ethanol, known as RINs, roughly doubled in value in the first half of 2026, driven by higher federal blending targets, the EIA reported in June (2026-06-10). Those costs feed directly into diesel production margins at refiners already running at near-full utilization.3
Sinopec's H1 figure gives the freshest read on how demand-side pressure in diesel markets is landing at scale. Second-half performance will hinge on Chinese industrial output in Q3 and Q4. If that fails to recover, the divergence between gasoline's still-elevated crack and diesel's weaker demand profile is likely to become the defining theme for refining margins into year-end.7