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REUTERS
BEIJING, Sept 18: China is unlikely to slash crude oil imports this year as accelerated infrastructure spending and reconstruction in flood-hit areas is fueling energy demand, industry officials said on Friday.
"Energy demand will definitely rise because of increased fiscal spending and the reconstruction in flooded areas," said an official of the China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC).
"The government is very unlikely to order a cut in crude oil imports under such circumstances," she said by telephone. China has been consistently adjusting its crude oil stockpiles in line with the international market and domestic demand, she said, declining to give figures.
A crackdown on smuggling has started to increase demand for domestic gasoline and diesel, boosting prices, she said. China's crude oil output this year was expected to match the 162 million tonnes recorded in 1997, she added.
China turned out 92.965 million tonnes of crude oil in the first eight months of this year, down 1.1 per cent from a yearearlier, according to official figures.
"Imports are expected to remain steady in the rest of this year," said an official of the China National Chemical Import and Export Corp (Sincochem).
China imported 19.12 million tonnes of crude oil in the first seven months this year, up 7.9 per cent year-on-year, customs figures show.
"Demand for oil products is rising in flooded areas as more machines, such as tractors and water pumps, are being used," the official said.
China expects to face a crude oil shortfall of 30-40 million tonnes in the year 2000 and must speed up development of its petroleum and petrochemical industries, the China News Service said on Friday.
Liu Furong, an official with the Liaohe oil field, told Reuters the field aims to produce 14.75 million tonnes of crude this year compared with 15 million tonnes in 1997.
"Liaohe has been hit by a slump in sales since the second half of last year," he said on the sidelines of a chemical industry conference in Beijing.
"Rising stockpileshave forced the oilfield to build new oil tanks to store stockpiles," he said, without giving details.
Some refineries had cut oil processing targets this year because of sluggish sales and falling prices, officials at the conference said. The Beijing Yanhua Petrochemical Co had reduced oil processing target by 500,000 tonnes this year to 6.1 million tonnes, a company official said.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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