Center

Net import of crude oil up 17.6%

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-08-12 10:16

China's net import of crude oil rose to 70.33 million tons and refined oil products, 12.03 million tons, in the first half of the year, said an official with China's General Administration of Customs on Friday.

China imported 73.33 million tons of crude oil and exported 3 million tons in the first half of 2006, said Zhang Bingzheng, a statistical analyst under the department of statistics of China Customs, at an industrial forum held in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province.

Angola, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Russia are the top four oil suppliers of the country in the first half year, said Zhang.

As for the refined oil, the country imported 18.23 million tons and exported 6.2 million tons in the January-June period, Zhang said.

According to him, China's net import of crude oil cost the country 32 billion U.S. dollars and refined oil products, 4.37 billion dollars.

The net import of crude oil and refined oil of the country rose by 17.6 percent and 48.3 percent year on year, respectively.

In the meantime, China produced 91.66 million tons of crude, up by 2.1 percent over the same period last year, and 84.82 million tons of refined oil, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.6 percent, in the first half, showed the statistics from the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association.

Both hit the new high of production record, compared with figures for past years.
The rapid growth of Chinese economy as well as its booming auto ownership contributes to the surging demand for oil in the country, said experts.

According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, China's GDP surged a year-on-year 10.9 percent in the first half of 2006, 0.9 percent higher than the same period of 2005.