China on-track to overtake US as largest global oil importer.

摘要

In Dec. of last year, US net oil imports fell to 5.98MM b/d, while Chinese imports increased to 6.12MM b/d; on an annual basis, Chinese imports of crude and refined products stood at 5.72MM b/d for 2012 in total, while US imports fell to a 20-year low of just 7.14MM b/d. Although Dec. is historically an unpredictable month for the oil and gas industry, analysts have suggested that US and Chinese import levels will continue to approach each other in the years to come. For one thing, US oil production is slated to continue rising as its shale boom rages on— production increased by 800K b/d in 2012—resulting in significandy decreased dependence on foreign crude resources.