Research and Markets: Oil and Gas Industry in China (2012 Update)

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/kw5bzb/oil_and_gas) has announced the addition of the "Oil and Gas Industry in China" report to their offering.

China is the world's second largest consumer of oil and gas, but only the sixth largest producer of the same. This disparity between supply and demand has been highlighted recently by a domestic fuel dearth that temporarily shut down businesses and has caused long lines at gas stations. It had been reported that China will account for over 37% of the Asia-Pacific regional oil demand by 2015, and this has already begun to show as there has been a rapid increase in imports of oil recently. In terms of natural gas, the scenario is no different, as demand exceeds supply in this case as well.

The shortage has also been driven by some local governments cutting power to meet the energy-saving targets outlined in the central government's 11th Five-Year Plan. Numerous factories, unable to operate without electricity, fired up diesel-powered electric generators.

The months-long diesel shortage has just recently begun to subside as China's oil refiners have increased production to record levels and ramped up imports. Import levels of more than 50% are widely considered an energy security alert. With China's oil and gas consumption rising at an average of 7.5% per year in recent times, domestic suppliers will need to boost their output to meet China's massive energy needs and reduce the nation's reliance on oil imports.

The technology to improve the efficiency and productivity of oil and gas companies has existed for years and is now gaining serious traction in China as the country becomes increasingly industrialized and its oil reserves are depleted and becoming more challenging to extract.

It has been highly anticipated that Chinese oil production will experience a shrink of almost 8.5% between the period of 2010-2020. Crude volumes are likely to go soaring in 2013, but would come back down by 2020. However, gas production is expected to rise, but it still will not be enough to contain the ever increasing demand in China.

This has led to China joining many Western nations in establishing strategic petroleum reserves to provide a buffer against disruptions in the supply of imported crude oil. It is also looking forward to adopt methods to increase its domestic output of oil and gas. It is certainly hoped that it will be able to meet the demands through imports, if not by its own reserves.

Companies Mentioned

- China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec)

- China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)

- China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)

- Total SA

- BG Group

- ConocoPhillips

- Eni

- PetroChina Company Ltd.

- BP China

- Chevron China

- ExxonMobil China