PetroChina overtakes Exxon as biggest oil producer
US giant Exxon Mobil has lost its crown as the world's biggest listed producer of oil to PetroChina, figures suggest. - The Chinese firm said it produced 886.1 million barrels of oil last year - the equivalent of 2.43 million barrels a day. In January, Exxon said it produced 2.3 million barrels a day. Exxon's production fell in 2011 by 5%, while PetroChina's rose 3.3%. Exxon remains the more valuable firm, with a market capitalisation of $400bn (£250bn) against PetroChina's $280bn. The development comes as US President Barack Obama proposed scrapping subsidies and tax breaks for oil companies "raking in record profits". Exxon remains more profitable than PetroChina, making a net profit in the final three months of last year of $9.4bn. According to figures from the Reuters news agency, state-owned PetroChina made $4.7bn over the same period.