| China's insatiable thirst for imported oil |
|
|
|
| Wednesday, 15 August 2007 | |
|
The seemingly never ending thirst for oil by China's growing economy shows no signs of ebbing, nor does the country's need to find that oil abroad. Defined as net imports in terms of a percentage of net imports plus domestic output, China's crude-oil dependency is flirting with the 50% level. According to the Wall Street Journal Asia, imports reached a record-breaking 48.8% in July of combined imports and domestic output. The jump comes as a result of both increasing domestic needs and lower production by existing Chinese oil fields. The dip in domestic production comes despite government efforts to boost the nation's output. Reported domestic output for July fell by 1.7% to 15.47 million metric tons versus a year ago. Part of the blame goes to heavy rains which have reportedly closed some fields and forced others to lower production. |
| < Prev |
|---|