China 2014 oil demand seen up 4pc, gas up 11pc

BEIJING: China's implied oil demand in 2014 is expected to rise around 4 percent from a year earlier to 518 million tonnes, or 10.36 million barrels per day (bpd), a forecast issued by the country's top oil firm, CNPC, showed on Wednesday.

The world's second-largest oil-consuming nation will process 509 million tonnes of crude oil in 2014, or 10.2 million bpd, up 5.1 percent from last year, CNPC's research institute said in an annual report.

Net imports of crude oil will amount to 298 million tonnes this year, or 5.96 million bpd, up 7.1 percent from 2013, it said.

Implied natural gas consumption will grow 11 percent from last year to 186 billion cubic metres in 2014, the institute said.