PetroChina Ltd., Asia's biggest oil producer, said today its net profit fell 9.7 percent in 2009 as sluggish demand and controls on prices for its processed products squeezed its refining margins, according to AP. Profit for the full year was 103.4 billion yuan ($15.1 billion) or 0.56 yuan (8 cents) a share, compared with 114.5 billion yuan the year before, the Beijing-based oil company reported. PetroChina, with shares traded in New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai, is the world's most valuable company by market capitalization after Exxon Mobil Corp. Total revenue fell 5 percent to 1.02 trillion yuan ($149 billion) on slack demand and a 38.4 percent drop for the year in average oil prices to $53.90 per barrel, down from $87.55 per barrel in 2008, PetroChina said. The company said it produced 843.5 million barrels of crude oil in 2009, down 3 percent from the 870 million barrels it pumped in 2008. Eight hikes last year in government-controlled prices for gasoline, diesel and other fuels did help to bridge a longstanding gap between lower domestic prices and global market prices that had caused PetroChina and other refiners massive losses when prices for imported crude oil soared in 2008. The company's refining operations returned to profit, earning 17.3 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) in 2009, compared with a loss of 93.8 billion yuan the year before.