BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) and PetroChina. Co., the country's two leading oil refiners, will receive "appropriate" monthly subsidies for losses retroactive to April 1, the companies said in separate statements.

    Neither statement provided further details.

    Chinese oil refiners have been running losses as world crude oil prices surge but domestic refined product prices remain relatively low. Refiners in China can't pass on the additional raw material costs to consumers.

    Also, the government will refund the value-added tax (VAT) levied on some of PetroChina and Sinopec's imported oil products in the second quarter, said the Ministry of Commerce.

    Sinopec, the country's largest oil refiner, has said that its net profit probably fell more than 50 percent year-on-year in the first quarter because of increasing costs.