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 An oil tanker berthed at Dongjiang Free Trade Port in Tianjin. Mai Tian / For China Daily |
SHANGHAI - China's crude oil demand growth may continue to slow in the third quarter as a cooling economy cuts requirements for fuel including diesel, according to data from the country's largest oil company.
Crude consumption may average 37 million metric tons a month, or about 8.9 million barrels a day, up 9.5 percent from a year earlier, research unit of China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) said in an e-mailed report. That compares with the 15 percent gain in the second quarter and the 22 percent increase in the first, Bloomberg calculations derived from official figures show.
The economy is cooling as the government trims credit growth, presses for energy efficiency gains and discourages multiple-home purchases. Diesel sales at China's two biggest oil companies including China Petrochemical Corp dropped "noticeably" last month from June, CNPC said in a statement.
CNPC and China Petrochemical, known as Sinopec Group, aren't planning to import diesel in August, according to the statement posted on its website on Tuesday.
Heavy rains, floods and an annual fishing ban from June to August for conservation reasons have also curbed diesel use, CNPC said. Privately held refineries may keep operating rates at about 33 percent in August because of weak sales, it said.
Growth in China's diesel consumption in the third quarter may slow to 5.5 percent with monthly demand averaging 13.2 million tons, CNPC said.
Gasoline demand in the quarter will remain "relatively high" at about 6 million tons a month on average, up 7 percent from a year earlier. Kerosene use may gain 2.4 percent to 1.45 million tons a month.
The country's gasoline exports may have dropped to 300,000 tons in July from 402,000 tons in June because of domestic summer demand, CNPC said. The oil spill in Dalian last month also cut gasoline exports from PetroChina's refineries, according to CNPC.
The country's diesel exports may have risen to as much as 400,000 tons from 270,000 tons in June, it said.
China's oil-product output may decline about 0.5 percent in August from last month as CNPC and Sinopec Group shut processing units at plants in Yangzi, Lanzhou, Jinxi, Daqing and Yumen for maintenance, CNPC said.
PetroChina may start operating its Qinzhou refinery in Guangxi at the end of August or in early September, CNPC said. The plant's operating rate won't be high initially, according to the statement.
China's June crude-oil processing rose at the most gradual pace in eight months as the world's fastest-expanding economy slowed. Economic growth eased to 10.3 percent in the second quarter from 11.9 percent in the first.
Bloomberg News
