Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Asia's biggest oil refiner, may say first-half profit rose at the fastest pace in four years because of rising demand for gasoline and chemicals and falling costs for crude oil.

Net income probably increased 64 percent to 35.1 billion yuan ($4.6 billion) in the six months ended June 30, according to the median estimate of nine analysts in a Bloomberg News survey. Sinopec, as China Petroleum is known, is due to report by Aug. 27.

Sinopec supplies almost two-thirds of the fuel sold in China, where the government forecasts gasoline consumption will rise 24 percent by 2010. An 8.1 percent decline in crude prices enabled Sinopec and rival PetroChina Co. end losses from making fuels and selling them at state-controlled prices.

``International crude prices were at a low level, and it greatly helped Sinopec's refining business,'' said Grace Liu, an analyst with Guotai Junan Securities Hong Kong Ltd.

Sinopec relies on imports for 70 percent of its crude oil, while the government controls retail pump prices to limit inflation.

First-quarter profit almost doubled to 19.4 billion yuan from a restated 9.55 billion yuan a year earlier because of the drop in crude costs, Sinopec said April 15. A 64 percent gain in first-half profit would be the biggest since 2003.

Huang Wensheng, Beijing-based spokesman for Sinopec, declined to comment on the earnings estimates.

Best-Performing Stock

Sinopec's Shanghai-traded stock is the best performing this year among the 59 members of the Bloomberg World Oil & Gas Index, gaining 67 percent by yesterday's close. The Hong Kong-traded stock is up 13 percent, trailing the 15 percent advance in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

PetroChina's refining profit in the first six months was 3.93 billion yuan, compared with a loss of 13.9 billion yuan a year earlier, the company said yesterday.

Sinopec processed 6.4 percent more crude in the first six months, refining 2.91 million barrels a day, it said last month.

Su Shulin will present his first set of earnings since being appointed chairman this month after Chen Tonghai departed in June. Analysts expect Su, a former executive at PetroChina parent China National Petroleum Corp., to seek oil fields to cut Sinopec's reliance on imported crude. Chen quit unexpectedly on June 22 for ``personal reasons.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Ying Lou in Hong Kong at ylou1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 23, 2007 20:33 EDT