China's refining losses totalled $26 bln in Jan-Oct

BEIJING, Dec 16 (Reuters) - China's state-run oil giants Sinopec (600028.SS) and PetroChina (601857.SS) suffered refining losses of 180.4 billion yuan ($26.34 billion) from January to October, a senior government official said, according to a statement published on a government website on Tuesday.

Li Rongrong, director of the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, revealed the losses at a meeting with state-owned enterprises.

He did not specify if the losses were posted by state-owned Sinopec Group and CNPC or their listed arms, although most refining activity is carried out by the listed entities.

High international crude prices, which hit a record $147 a barrel in mid-July, pushed the top Asian oil refiners deep into the red, squeezed between the sky-rocketing crude prices and the low state-capped fuel prices.

But the companies' fortunes have turned around in the last few months since China has kept domestic fuel prices steady, ignoring a $100 plunge in crude, which has allowed the refiners to make healthy profits.

China unveiled a long-awaited overhaul of its domestic fuel price regime in early December, in a move that should make petrol cheaper and allow for more predictable profits at its state-owned refiners. [ID:nSP350016]

Sinopec Group is the parent company of listed arm Sinopec Corp (600028.SS) (0386.HK) (SNP.N), while rival CNPC is the parent of the listed PetroChina Co Ltd (0857.HK) (PTR.N) (601857.SS). ($1=6.848 yuan) (Reporting by Beijing newsroom, Editing by Tom Miles and Ben Tan)