China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation on Sunday reported a net profit of 39.15 billion yuan ($6.05 billion) for the first six months of 2021 on the back of renewed fuel demand and a rebound in oil prices amid a recovery from the impact of COVID-19. 

Asia's biggest oil refiner, known as Sinopec, posted a loss of 23 billion yuan during January-June last year as the coronavirus pandemic walloped fuel demand and knocked oil prices. The 2021 interim profit compares with a profit of about 31.34 billion yuan in the same period in 2019. 

Revenue in the first six months rose by 22.1 percent from last year's low base to 1.26 trillion yuan, following a recovery in global oil prices and robust demand for fuel and petrochemical products. 

During the period, Sinopec processed a total of 126.11 million tonnes of crude oil, up by 13.7 percent on a year earlier, with gasoline output increasing by 20.8 percent as more people drove as China recovered from the COVID-19 shock.

Ethylene production also jumped by 11.9 percent in the first six months from a year ago to 6.46 million tonnes, as the company upgrades its refineries to churn out more high-end petrochemical raw materials and slashes low value-added fuel products. 

Sinopec produced 138.15 million barrels of crude oil, down 1.5 percent year on year, while its natural gas output rose by 13.7 percent to 582.6 billion cubic feet. 

Capital expenditure for the half-year came in at 57.94 billion yuan, about 35 percent of its full-year investment plan of 167.2 billion yuan.