Paula Dittrick
Senior Staff Writer
HOUSTON, Feb. 8 -- China's oil demand will remain fairly stable because of energy efficiency technology and growing LNG imports, according to China National Offshore Oil Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Fu Chengyu.
"Future demand on oil—especially on imports—will not be very much higher than today," Fu told the Cambridge Energy Research Associates annual energy conference on Feb. 7.
Fu pointed to forecasts that China's oil demand would be higher in 2005 than it was in 2004. "Actually, it was not," Fu said without offering demand figures.
His comment reinforced Chinese news reports that the country's oil demand dropped in 2005. The reports cite the National Development and Reform Commission as saying China consumed 318 million tonnes of oil in 2005, which was 1.08 million tonnes less than in 2004.
"We are going to spend a lot more on providing efficiency," Fu said.
In some applications, imported gas will replace oil. China's first LNG import terminal is expected to be in operation during the first half of the year, Fu said.
The $846 million terminal in the city of Shenzhen will import more than 3 million tonnes/year of LNG from Australia (OGJ Online, Nov. 22, 2002.)
"We are linking China into multinational LNG agreements," Fu said, adding that China expects to import "30 million tonnes each year" of LNG.
CNOOC's plans
CNOOC plans to increase its oil production at a rate of 15%/year and its gas production at 14%/year, Fu said.
"We aim to be a participant in the global marketplace. . . . China's goal is not to overturn the world order but to reinforce it and even profit from it," he said. "We are bonded together with most of the oil men in this room."
Fu said CNOOC is the same as other oil companies in its goals of finding and developing oil and gas reserves, training skilled workers, and protecting the interest of stockholders.
Speaking with reporters after his speech, Fu did not directly answer questions about whether CNOOC will seek acquisitions in the US. Last year, CNOOC bid and then withdrew its offer for Unocal Corp. (OGJ, Aug. 8, 2005, p. 29).
"Overseas, we will expand and seek good commercial deals in various regions," he said. "We will expand prudently but optimistically."
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected].
