China's Fuel Imports May Fall Next Year, Sinopec Official Says

By Winnie Zhu

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- China, the world's fastest-growing major economy, may import less fuel next year as more crude oil refineries start operating, an official at China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. said.

The nation may add more than 35 million metric tons of refining capacity this year, Tian Chun Rong, senior engineer at China Petroleum, also known as Sinopec, said at a conference in Shanghai today. Refiners may boost capacity by more than 20 million tons a year between 2009 and 2010, Tian said.

The Chinese government raised fuel prices by as much as 18 percent on June 20, encouraging refiners to produce more fuels and draw down inventories. China's fuel shortage has receded, Zhang Guobao, who heads the National Energy Administration, the top energy regulator, said last month.

Fuel imports may reach 47 million tons this year and exports 19 million tons, Tian said.

Sinopec, Asia's biggest refiner, plans to cut crude oil imports as demand growth may slow for the rest of 2008, Spokesman Huang Wensheng said on Sept. 19, without elaborating.

China cut its diesel and gasoline imports in August from a record as higher domestic prices spurred oil refiners to expand fuel supplies, the Customs General Administration of China said on Sept. 16.

To contact the reporter on this story: Winnie Zhu in Shanghai at wzhu4@bloomberg.net.