China's crude oil imports jump by 25%

China’s crude oil imports jumped 25% in May from a year earlier, as state refiners boosted production to meet higher demand in the southwestern regions affected by the May 12 earthquake. Crude imports rose to 16.2 million metric tons in May, or about 3.8 million barrels per day, the Customs General Administration of China said on its website. May shipments were second only to the record 17.3 million tons imported in March. The deadly earthquake damaged power lines and hampered the transportation of coal. China Petrochemical Corp. and China National Petroleum Corp. were running their plants at full capacity to cover supply shortfalls in Sichuan Province and meet additional demand. Crude imports rose 13% to 75.97 million tons in the first five months, with the cost of shipments rising by 85% to US$52.4 billion. The oil import bill in May reached US$12 billion as international prices climbed. China exported 150,000 tons of crude in May and 950,000 tons in the five-month period. (June 12, 2008)