Demand for oil to rise 4.8%

Workers drill an oil well in Daqing, Heilongjiang province. China's domestic crude output will be about 210 million tons in 2013. [WANG JIANWEI / XINHUA]

As China's economy gradually rebounds, its demand for oil will rise at a modest rate of 4.8 percent to 514 million metric tons this year, and imports will continue to grow, the CNPC Economic and Technology Research Institute said on the same day.

The country will import about 289 million tons of crude oil this year, up 7.3 percent year-on-year, according to a report released by the institute under China National Petroleum Corp.

The figure means that about 59 percent of China's crude oil demand will depend on imports in 2013.

"As the country's oil consumption increases, its dependency on foreign imports will continue to rise," said Qian Xingkun, the institute's deputy director.

Meanwhile, domestic crude output will be about 210 million tons.

The CNPC forecast is slightly lower than an earlier estimate by the energy research institute of the National Development and Reform Commission.

In November, Gao Shixian, assistant director-general of the institute under the NDRC, said China will import about 60 percent of the oil it uses in 2013.