IN BRIEF (Page 5)

Crude imports drop

China's crude oil imports posted a year-on-year drop of 8 percent to 12.82 million tons in January, the lowest in 15 months, said the General Administration of Customs.

China bought 2.39 million tons of refined oil from overseas last month, down 26.2 percent year-on-year.

The customs administration also said that the country's crude oil exports surged 156 percent year-on-year to 450,000 tons in January.

Coal exports totaled 3.66 million tons last month, down 36.3 percent from the previous year and the refined oil export volume declined 6.5 percent year-on-year to 1.13 million tons.

Factory oil price dips

Crude oil factory price plummeted 49.9 percent year-on-year in January, said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The factory prices of gasoline and kerosene rose 2.1 and 3.1 percent year-on-year respectively. But diesel oil factory price declined 4.8 percent.

The price of raw coal rose 12.3 percent from the same period last year.

Power output down

China's power generation in January fell 13 percent year-on-year due to weak demand during the Spring Festival holiday, said an official from the China Electricity Council (CEC).

It was the fourth consecutive month that the nation witnessed negative growth in power generation. CEC statistics showed that thermal power generation in October, November and December last year fell 5.3 percent, 16.6 percent and 12.4 percent respectively.

According to a CEC report released on Feb 4, China's power demand will continue to fall in the first half of the year before picking up in the third quarter. From the end of the second quarter, power demand may start to increase, said the CEC. The first two quarters will be the most difficult time for the power sector, said the association.

Sinopec's plan

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) said it planned to produce 10 percent more crude oil at its northwestern oilfield this year despite falling oil prices and demand.

The northwestern field will produce 6.59 million tons of crude oil this year, compared with 6 million tons in 2008, according to a statement posted on the company's website.

The oilfield is located in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, an energy-rich region that has been providing a growing amount of oil and gas.

China's crude oil production gained 2.3 percent from a year earlier to reach 189.73 million tons in 2008.

$13b gas supply line

Construction has commenced of the eastern segment of China's second West-East gas line, which will supply energy to more than 400 million people.

The pipeline will cross 14 provinces and carry 30 billion cu m of natural gas every year from Turkmenistan and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to areas such as Zhejiang, Shanghai and Guangdong.

The 9,102 km network will consist of one trunk line and eight sub-lines. Work on the western segment began last year, with the line is expected to become operational in 2011.

(China Daily 02/16/2009 page5)