Sinopec reported a 20.68 billion yuan (2.59 billion US dollars) net profit in the first half, a 14.6 percent year-on-year increase from 18.04 billion yuan (2.26 billion US dollars) last year, Bloomberg reported. Hurt by higher crude oil prices in the international market, the company’s refinery business suffered a loss of 7.5 billion yuan (938 million US dollars) in the first half. Sales of gasoline, diesel and kerosene rose 29.6 percent year-on-year to 240.6 billion yuan (20.1 billion US dollars) in the first six months, while sales of chemical products increased 24 percent to 92.7 billion yuan (11.59 billion US dollars). ``They really suffered in the refining side,'' Bloomberg quoted Lorraine Tan, director of research at Standard & Poor's Investment Services in Singapore, as saying. ``I don't think the government will have refiners suffer losses all the way through, otherwise, you won't get the capacity increases that they want.'' Sinopec's profit is tied to state controls on energy pricing because the refiner supplies 80 percent of the fuels sold in the world's fastest-growing major economy. The company said it plans to accelerate drilling for natural gas, use cheaper grades of oil at its plants and expand output of higher-priced fuels and chemicals to stem refining losses and boost exploration earnings.