OREANDA-NEWS. August 18, 2011. China posted a 3.2-percent increase in crude oil output for first seven months to 118.89 million tons, reports National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). All percentage changes cited in this article are year-on-year.

The output of crude oil in July hit 17.13 million tons, almost unchanged compared from the same period a year ago.

For the first seven months, oil imports grew 8.4 percent to 146.63 million tons, of which 20.89 million tons were imported in July, up 1.8 percent.

Crude oil reliance on imports hit 54.8 for the first half of 2011, compared to 61 percent in the US. During the seven months, China process a total of 237.4 million tons of crude oil, rising 5.8 percent.

Output of refined oil rose 6.1 percent to 143.61 million tons, 20.64 million tons of which were produced in July.

The country processed 33.75 million tons of crude oil in July, an increase of three percent from the same month in 2010. During that period, consumption of refined oil totaled 139.29 million tons, up 6.8 percent.

Of that total, consumption of diesel fuel and gasoline hit 87.81 million tons and 41.54 million tons, up 5.9 percent and 8.1 percent respectively.

Consumption of refined oil in July hit 20.99 million tons with average daily usage of 677,000 tons.