China may import 120 million tons of oil this year

HAIKOU - China's oil imports could reach 120 million tons and the country's total oil consumption could exceed 300 million tons in 2004, according to an expert at China's largest refining corporation.

China is to process 270 million tons of crude oil and the overall oil consumption could hit 30.8 million tons, said Tian Chunrong, a senior engineer with the information department of China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, China's largest oil refiner.

Fuel consumption is expected to keep rising to 48.5 million tons in 2004, owing to the strong demand of the thriving power generation industry, Tian told a recent seminar on China's oil market in 2004 held in Haikou, the capital of the southernmost island province of Hainan.

The demand for fuel has triggered import increase, Tian said. Statistics show that China's fuel imports showed a year-on-year rise of 69% in the first four months of the year, compared with the same period last year.

Diesel export was expected to decrease remarkably in 2004 as domestic demand is soaring, in particular in its power generation and transport industries, Tian said.

The yearly diesel consumption is expected to increase from 84 million tons in 2003 to 95.50 million tons in 2004. The net import of diesel went up to 400,000 tons in the first four months, and the figure is projected to reach 1.2 million tons by the end of the year, a record high in six years, according to Tian.

The rapidly increase in the number of private cars contributes to the fast growth of gasoline consumption, Tian said. The annual consumption of gasoline was expected to increase from 40 million tons in 2003 to 45 million tons in 2004.

Gasoline exports dropped by one third in the first four months of the year, compared with the same period of last year, he said. Gasoline exports reported a record high of 7.54 millions tons in 2003.

(Asia Pulse/XIC)