China expects slow growth in crude oil imports

China’s biggest oil producer, China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), expects growth in crude oil imports to slow down in 2012. CNPC said that weaker economic expansion could result net crude oil imports to increase by 5.98%, to reach 266 million tons this year. China first released data on net crude oil imports in 2006, during which time the growth rate was at 16.9%. In 2011, net crude oil imports rose by 6%, which was below the double-digit figures of 2006. CNPC forecasts that domestic oil output could stabilize this year at 220 million tons. Terry Chan, a credit analyst from Standard & Poors, said that with reduced demand from Europe and the U.S., China’s economy could achieve a soft landing with an 8% growth in 2012. Last year, the country’s economy grew by 9.2%. China has been a net importer of crude oil since 1993 and is currently the world’s second biggest oil importer. The country’s oil-import dependency rate in 2011 was estimated to have exceeded 56%.
CNOOC expects 5% growth
Meanwhile, China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), the biggest offshore oil producer in the country, has set its output target in 2012 at 330-340 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE). The company’s estimated net output last year was 332 million BOE and it expects a 5% year-on-year increase in fuel output to 280 million tons this year. CNOOC said domestic fuel demand growth could go down during the first half of this year because of a GDP slowdown, but the company expects a rebound in the second half, as economic conditions improve. (February 3, 2012)