HONG KONG, March 25 (Reuters) - PetroChina Co Ltd <0857.HK> <PTR.N> <601857.SS>, Asia's top oil and gas producer, posted a 39 percent drop in fourth-quarter net profit, hit by asset writedowns amid a sharp drop in crude oil prices.
PetroChina, the world's second-largest oil company by market value after Exxon Mobil <XOM.N>, said October-December net profit fell to 20.9 billion yuan ($3 billion) from a restated 34.25 billion yuan a year earlier.
The result, calculated from previously reported quarterly earnings, lagged a consensus forecast for 33.1 billion yuan from 20 analysts polled by Reuters.
For the full year, PetroChina reported a net profit of 114.43 billion yuan. The oil giant posted earnings per share of 0.63 yuan, down from 0.82 yuan a year ago.
The company said its total oil and gas output in 2008 rose 5.7 percent from the previous year.
PetroChina is the latest energy producer to feel the pain from the collapse in crude prices <CLc1>, which have tumbled by two-thirds from a record near $150 a barrel last July.
International oil majors including BP Plc <BP.L> and Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> have posted lower fourth-quarter profits.
PetroChina shares fell 15 percent in October-December, a little less than top Asian oil refiner Sinopec's <0386.HK> 22 percent drop and a 20 percent fall on the benchmark Hang Seng Index <.HSI>. (Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
