Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 22
Trend:
The pace of the China's oil demand from 2015 to 2030 will slow by almost 60 percent versus the 2000-2015 period, according to the forecasts of the Energy Security Analysis (ESAI), which is the leading US-based independent research firm.
In a study "Balancing Act: China's Oil Demand and Energy Mix to 2030" ESAI said that China will become an even larger supplier of gasoline to the world and will eventually export fuel oil while continuing to absorb signficant quantities of LPG.
China's implied oil consumption grew 2.5 percent in 2015 on strong gasoline and kerosene use, defying a slowing economy and falling demand for other commodities such as coal and steel, Reuters reported.
China imported a record 7.82 million billion barrels per day of crude last month to feed its growing throughput capacity and help fill strategic reserves.
China's refinery runs for 2015 rose 3.8 percent to 10.44 million barrels per day, the agency reported with the reference to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
In December, refinery throughput hit a record 10.79 million bpd, up 2.7 percent from the same month last year and 1 percent higher from November.
High crude throughput and weak domestic demand growth for diesel made China a net fuel exporter in 2015. The country exported 120,000 barrels per day of fuel.