China's oil consumption growth rate for 2013 slackened to an annual rate of 1.7 percent due to stricter requirements on environmental protection which increased the demand for natural gas, according to a report released Wednesday.
China's total oil consumption for 2013 reached 498 million tons. Last year's growth rate of 1.7 percent is markedly lower than the 2.8 percentage growth rate reported in 2012, according to a report from CNPC Economic and Technology Research Institute. The growth rate of 2013 is much lower than the average of 6.7 percent during the first decade of the new millennium when oil consumption increased dramatically due to the very rapid growth of the country's economy during the period.
The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the nation's largest oil and gas producer, supplier and PetroChina's parent company, mentioned in a report that in 2013, 58.1 percent of oil consumed in China was from overseas supplies. The report forecasts that oil consumption this year will continue to increase to about 518 million tons, reflecting a growth rate of 4 percent.
The growth rate in oil consumption decreased last year due to the government's strong position on environmental protection in response to the very serious air pollution problem affecting a large part of China since the early part of the year.
The slowdown in oil consumption strongly contrasts with the sharp increase in natural gas consumption. China's natural gas consumption growth rate last year was 13.9 percent, and imports increased greatly to 53 cubic meters or 25 percent more than past figures.
Duan Zhaofang, a researcher at the institute, forecasted that China's consumption of natural gas during the current year will show a further increase by 11 percent or to 186 billion cubic meters.