OPEC Bulletin January 2009OPEC Bulletin February 2009OPEC ...

The country’s oil product net imports in January
declined by 130,000 b/d, or 16.3 per cent, compared
with the month before, but increased by 620,000 b/d
over the year before.
The OPEC report reiterated that the sustained strong
growth in China’s net oil imports reflected robust demand
and expanding stocks.
It stated that Saudi Arabia remained the main supplier
of China’s crude oil in January with supplies amounting
to almost 990,000 b/d.
It was followed by Angola with deliveries of 630,000
b/d, Iran with 410,000 b/d, and Russia with 330,000
b/d. Other suppliers included Oman (310,000 b/d), Iraq
(280,000 b/d) and Sudan (230,000 b/d).
But it is not only China’s oil demand that is expanding.
According to the country’s National Energy Administration
(NEA), domestic gas demand was forecast to rise by 18
per cent this year to 130 billion cubic metres/day. This
is in line with the government’s aim of encouraging the
use of clean energy.
The agency said in a report that China’s gas consumption
shot up by over 20 per cent to 110bn cu m last year.
Domestic production was said to have increased by 12
per cent over 2009 figures, while coal-bed methane output
surged by 42 per cent.
More strikingly, China’s imports of liquefied natural
gas soared by 75 per cent to 9.34m tons in 2010. Pipeline
imports from Turkmenistan, which began in December
2009, amounted to 4.4bn cu m.
In keeping with the move, China’s domestic gas output
is slated to increase by 16 per cent this year over 2010
figures to reach 110bn cu m.
The NEA was quoted as saying in the report that energy
consumption growth in China in 2011 was expected to be
lower than during last year, in line with a slowing economy.
Domestic energy consumption in 2010 was mainly
driven by the increased use of gasoline as more than 18
million cars were sold in the year, a third more than in 2009.
The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)
has said it expected the country’s apparent demand for
crude oil to increase by 7.2 per cent to 9.5m b/d in 2011.
It also forecast that domestic refining of that crude
would average 8.92m b/d in 2011, up by five per cent.
China, it added, was also expected to import 12m t of LNG
this year, while pipeline imports were set to increase to
15bn cu m.
All these figures are backed by an economy that is
forecast to grow by around nine per cent in 2011, down
from the 10.3 per cent recorded in 2010.
China’s demand for automobiles continues unabated, fuelling an
increased need for gasoline.
OPEC bulletin 3/11
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