China's net import of crude oil rose by 17.6 percent year on year in the first half of 2006, due to the rapid economic growth and booming automobile purchases, state media said Saturday.
Net imports of crude oil rose to 70.33 million tons while that of refined oil products increased to 12.03 million tons in the first half, Xinhua news agency reported, citing an official with China's General Administration of Customs.
Net imports are calculated after subtracting the amount of oil China exported from the amount it imported. China imported 73.33 million tons of crude oil and exported 3 million tons in the first six months, customs officials said.
Angola, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Russia were the top four oil suppliers for China during the six-month period. As for refined oil, the country imported 18.23 million tons and exported 6.2 million tons in the January-June period, Xinhua said.
According to officials, China's crude oil purchases cost the country 32 billion US dollars and refined oil products cost 4.37 billion dollars, Xinhua said.
During the first six months, China produced 91.66 million tons of crude, up by 2.1 percent over the same period last year, and 84.82 million tons of refined oil, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.6 percent, Xinhua said, citing statistics from the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association.
Both hit a new production record, compared with figures for past years, Xinhua said. China's economy grew by 10.9 percent in the first half of 2006, 0.9 percent higher than the same period of 2005, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.