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China Energy Data, Statistics and Analysis - Oil, Gas, Electricity, Coal

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China
Last Updated: November 2010

Background
China is the world's most populous country and the second largest energy consumer behind the United States . Rising oil demand and imports have made China a significant factor in world oil markets. China is the second largest oilconsumer behind the United States. China emerged from being a net oil exporter in the early 1990s and became the world’s third-largest net importer of oil in 2006. China’s oil consumption growth accounted for about a third of the world’s oil consumption growth in 2009. Natural gas usage in China has also increased rapidly in recent years, and China has looked to raise natural gas imports viapipeline and liquefied natural gas (LNG). China is also the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal, an important factor in world energy markets. China is the world's most populous country and has a rapidly growing economy. China’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an estimated 8.7 percent in 2009, while the country registered average growth of 10 percent between 2000 and 2008. The recentglobal financial crisis caused China’s GDP to slow from highs of 13 percent in 2007, to 6.2 percent in the first quarter of 2009 (measured against Q1 2008), the lowest quarterly rate in 10 years. However, the second quarter 2009 saw GDP growth rebound somewhat and until Q1 2010, the rate has steadily risen to 11.9 percent, the fastest year over year growth in 3 years. Asia, particularly China andIndia, was the first area to see growth during the global recession. Most analysts predict China will grow around 10 percent in 2010. China’s recent 4-trillion yuan ($586 billion) economic stimulus package, launched in November 2008, is focused on boosting China’s domestic consumption (currently about a third of real GDP) and fixed asset investment, as well as improving industry value chains andenergy conservation in order to decrease dependence on an export-driven economy. Using various measures such as tax reductions, rebates, fiscal subsidies, greater access to credit, and direct government expenditures, China is targeting almost all sectors of the economy: real estate/construction, transportation and power infrastructure, agriculture, social services, heavy and light industry, Sichuanearthquake reconstruction, technology advancement, and rural development. In light of the government’s goals for energy security and energy efficiency, China is using its stimulus package through vehicles such as tax breaks, advantageous lending rates, and a foreign exchange fund to encourage state-owned oil companies to expand upstream investments abroad, increase downstream refining capacity,and augment crude and oil product stockpiles. Industry analysts anticipate the fiscal stimulus will translate into economic development in the first half of 2010 and generate at least a moderate increase of domestic consumption including demand for energy commodities and thereafter will see a slower growth in the remainder of 2010 and 2011. In January 2010, the Chinese government implementedmonetary tightening measures such as increasing bank reserve requirements to stem massive bank lending and potential inflation. China is currently trying to balance the concern over market bubbles and an overheated economy against the desire for sustained economic growth and job creation.

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12/6/2010 2:01 PM

China Energy Data, Statistics and Analysis - Oil, Gas, Electricity, Coalfile:///Z:/NewCABs/V6/China/Full.html

Coal supplied the vast majority (71 percent) of China’s total energy consumption of 85 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) in 2008. Oil is the second-largest source, accounting for 19 percent of the country’s total energy consumption. While China has made an effort to diversify its energy supplies, hydroelectric sources (6 percent), natural gas (3...