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China's crude oil imports to rise more than 10 percent in 2007: report
AFP
BEIJING
Petroleumworld.com 03 09 07
China's crude oil imports, which already cover nearly 50 percent of its needs, are expected to rise more than 10 percent to top 160 million tonnes in 2007*, the nation's top refiner said Thursday.
The figure, published in the China PetroChemical News, a newspaper owned by China Petroleum Chemical Corp (Sinopec), compared with crude imports of 145 million tonnes in 2006.
With nearly stagnant oil production at home, China last year relied on imports for 47 percent of total oil consumed, with the cost up 22.8 percent to reach 81.9 billion dollars, according to customs figures.
Lehman Brothers reported Chinese oil demand was forecast to grow 500,000 barrels per day or 7.2 percent in 2007, "accounting for about 30 percent of global oil demand growth and contributing to stubbornly high oil prices."
The booming Chinese economy, which grew 10.7 percent in 2006, the fourth year of double-digit expansion, has forced the country to look for energy and raw material resources across the world.
China's key economic planning body announced last month that energy industries in nine oil producing countries were on a short list of "suitable" sites for Chinese investment.
Among them were Kuwait, Qatar, Amman, Morocco, Libya, Nigeria, Norway, Ecuador and Bolivia.
* Note from Petroleumworld
Aproximate 3.3 MBD
AFP 08 0952 GMT 03 07
Copyright© 2007 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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