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China’s oil output to scale new heights
New discoveries and stabilisation of legacy fields’ output have helped China reverse the decline and be a top-five producer in recent years
India to help Asia spearhead global refining
Shifting demand patterns leaves most populous nation primed to become downstream leader as China and the West retreat
US, Russia and China circle the Arctic
The strategic importance of vast untapped oil and gas reserves and key shipping routes has come in from the cold
Cheap gas key to unlocking new markets
Weaning poorer regions off coal means gas needs to be abundant and competitive longer term
Do not underplay China’s long-term gas growth narrative
A subdued market amid global trade tensions is just an aberration in gas’ upward trajectory
China’s critical gas position
China will play a huge role in driving gas demand, with its Qatar partnership crucial to this growth amid global structural challenges
Bad omens for Chinese oil demand
Sino-US trade tensions could see crude consumption crumble despite recent buying behaviour
Taiwan’s energy dependencies laid bare
Renewed China tensions threaten island’s inflows of oil and gas from overseas
US-China trade war will have limited impact
Tariffs likely to compound already weakening energy flows between economic powerhouses and lead to trade being rerouted
Outlook 2025: China faces up to slowing clean product demand
Structurally lower GDP growth and the need for a different economic model will contribute to a significant slowdown
China Cnooc CNPC Sinopec Petrochina
Selwyn Parker
5 October 2017
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Downstream to the rescue for China

China's NOCs have had a few difficult years. But restructuring and a modest oil-price recovery are helping

The influence of the Beijing government on China's oil and gas sector continues unabated. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first six months of 2017 output from oil refineries hit about 11.1m barrels per day, up 4% on 2016 and the highest level on record. This is mainly because independent refiners—the so-called teapots—were allowed to import more crude. Similarly, natural gas production rose by 8% to 74.1bn cubic metres for the same period as Beijing put pressure on industry to cut back on coal consumption. Also, the country's national oil companies (NOCs) are entering a new phase as the government pushes them to work more with private companies as a way of pl

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