Sinopec chairman bullish on Chinese oil demand

Su Shulin, the chairman of Sinopec, said on the sidelines of the company’s annual general meeting that Chinese demand for oil products was growing steadily and increased 23.1% in the first quarter of 2010 compared with 2009, rising to 390,000 tons per day. Shulin said that demand would remain strong over the summer months and stated that the company would be increasing its crude oil imports as a result, particularly from Brazil, from which it will receive 7 million tons of oil this year through the loan and crude oil import deal. Sinopec’s projections suggest confidence in the incremental recovery of China’s oil demand, which, looking forward, will be buoyed by the extension of the automobile stimulus plan—which is boosting demand for gasoline from privately owned vehicles—and the rapid projected development of the petrochemical sector, which will boost demand for naphtha. (May 25, 2010)