China's crude oil imports are expected to reach 140 million tons
in 2006, up 10.2 percent on last year, according to the Ministry of
Commerce (MOC).
Liang Shuhe, deputy director with the Foreign Trade Department
of the MOC, said that China's demand for crude oil would total
about 290 million tons this year, of which 48 percent were
imports.
According to Liang, China's total output of crude oil is
expected to reach 183 million tons in 2006, with 7.40 million tons
for exports.
Liang said the fast growth of the economy has forced China to
depend more and more on imports because of the limited domestic
production, predicting that the steady increase in imports was
likely to continue.
Statistics from the MOC show that China's crude oil imports
increased by 14.1 percent in the first ten months of this year to
reach 120 million tons.
The Chinese government removed tariffs on oil imports in
November and opened its domestic oil market to foreign companies in
December to cut the cost of oil imports.
(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2006)