China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) announced Monday it would double its liquefied natural gas (LNG) import volume by 2020 to 30 million tons, or 237 million barrels.

Fu Chengyu, president of CNOOC, said the company's LNG imports are expected to reach 16 million tons, or 126 million barrels, this year.

Figures from the National Energy Bureau of Statistics of China show that CNOOC imported 5.8 million tons, or 45 million barrels, of LNG in 2009, an increase of 67 percent compared with 2008.

In March 2010, CNOOC and British Gas Group (BG Group) signed an LNG procurement contract. According to the agreement, CNOOC will purchase 3.6 million tons, or 28 million barrels, of LNG from BP's Queensland LNG plant in Australia.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation is the third-largest oil company in China following CNPC and Sinopec. The State-owned company focuses on oil and natural gas exploration and refining in China's sea areas. CNOOC is listed in Hong Kong and New York.

Bloomberg said Tuesday the increase in China's oil needs would become the largest driver of global growth of crude oil demand in 2010.

China's first quarter oil demand increased 1.25 million barrels, while oil demand in Asia and the Middle East increased 2.4 million barrels.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast that crude oil prices will gradually move up, which will likely lead to a rise in commodity prices. So far this year, iron ore and nickel prices have risen over 40 percent, while coal has increased 10 percent and steel more than 25 percent. Crude oil and petrochemicals also increased over 10 percent since early this year.

Soaring crude oil prices will put great pressure on profit margins for PetroChina and CNOOC as more than 50 percent of the oil the two refine is imported. Sinopec imports over 70 percent of the gasoline it sells each year in China, but oil prices have failed to keep pace with import prices.