China's largest oil and gas producer cuts jobs: state media

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the country's largest oil and gas producer, is to cut 5 percent of its workforce as it seeks to control costs after a fall in profits, state media said Saturday.

The parent company of PetroChina employed 1.67 million people last year, the state-run China Daily said, which brings the number of job cuts to 83,500.

AFP was unable to confirm the group's total number of employees, and calls made to CNPC went unanswered.

The job cuts were announced at a recent annual meeting of company executives, according to the newspaper.

The news comes after the group posted a 39 percent drop in first half profit to 56.4 billion yuan (8.3 billion dollars), according to the National Business Daily.

Losses in refining operations and increased windfall tax payments, the report said, led to the fall in profits.

Jiang Jiemin, General Manager of CNPC, told state media recently that the company planned to cut office costs, as well as entertainment and business travel spending by more than 10 percent this year.