China Depends on Foreign Oil More Than Any Other Country

China has eclipsed the United States as the country most dependent on foreign oil, relying on external sources for 55.2 percent of its crude oil compared to the United States’ 53.5 percent, according to Chinese state media over the weekend.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s published the data for the first five months of this year on Saturday.

Some projections show that China’s dependence on imported oil could skyrocket to 60 percent or more by 2020.

Chinese oil consumption has grown rapidly in recent years, bringing a commensurate reliance on foreign oil. According to domestic data, foreign crude oil comprised 43 percent of China’s usage in 2006, 46 percent in 2007, 49.8 percent in 2008, 51 percent in 2009, and 53.7 in 2010, averaging an annual 2 percent growth rate.

Through May, Chinese energy usage rose by a year-on-year rate of 10.3 percent, exceeding the country’s GDP growth rate, with 198 million tons of oil already consumed, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said. Oil imports during the first five months of this year reached 107 million tons, an 11.3 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

The Ministry forecasts 468 million tons of crude oil consumption for 2011, a jump of 6.5 percent from last year.

Tong Xiaoguang with the China Academy of Engineering suggests that China’s dependence on foreign oil could reach 60 percent and 65 percent in 2020 and 2025, respectively.

The “BP Energy Outlook 2030,” an analysis of global energy growth and demand released in January, projects that by 2030 half of the world’s growth in oil consumption will be taking place in China.

Read the original Chinese article.

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