Amid a 6 per cent drop in its first half profit due to volatile crude prices, further losses in refining and chemicals as well as weak demand, PetroChina Co Ltd continues to actively scout acquisition opportunities across the border.

China's largest oil producer, which reported on Thursday total net income for the six months ended in June decelerate to 62.03 billion yuan ($9.76 billion) from 66.01 billion yuan a year ago, said it is specifically eyeing potential takeover targets in Central Asia, East Africa, Australia and Canada.

The company, according to Vice Chairman and President Zhou Jiping, has earmarked 100 billion yuan ($15.7 billion) this year to pursue overseas investments in oil and gas assets. Acquisition strategies, he said, will be coursed through cooperation with overseas partners and by purchasing directly oil and gas assets.

"Internationalisation is a very important long-term strategy for our company. We remain very committed to expand our presence overseas," Mr. Zhou told reporters in Hong Kong. He pointed out plans by the state-controlled oil giant that stipulate 50 per cent of its total output in five to eight years should come from its overseas oil and gas assets, although no major overseas acquisitions has been made this year.

"Under the tough global macroeconomic environment, many companies are reorganising their assets, which at the same time has brought many opportunities," Mr. Zhou said, without elaborating.

PetroChina will likewise maintain investments on the development in unconventional natural gas business, planning to spend more than 10 billion yuan on three types of unconventional clean energy, namely coal bed methane, tight gas, and shale gas.