China's Natural Gas Output in April 2012 Up 9.5% from April 2011

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources China (Beijing, China)--Compared with the first quarter 2012, the production and consumption of natural gas in China showed an obvious drop in April 2012, but the absolute volume remained at a high level. As per an instant statistical report of the industry, China's natural gas output reached 8.5 billion cubic meters in April 2012, an increase of 9.5% year over year, or a drop of 13% from the previous month. From January to April 2012, the accumulative natural gas output of China reached 37.3 billion cubic meters, an increase of 7.8% from the same period last year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced on May 21, 2012.

Apart from the obvious drop in domestic output compared with the previous month, the import of natural gas was kept on fast growth. In April 2012, the import of natural gas reached about 3.3 billion cubic meters, an increase of 30.6% year over year. From January to April 2012, the accumulative import of natural gas reached 12.9 billion cubic meters, an increase of 46.9% from the same period last year; the import volume accounted for 25.9% of the total consumption in the same period. In April 2012, China's apparent consumption of natural gas reached 10.9 billion, an increase of 13.1% year over year, or a drop of 16.5% from the previous month. From January to April 2012, the apparent consumption of natural gas reached 50 billion cubic meters, an increase of 16.6% from the same period last year.

On the same day, the NDRC also announced an operational report on the petroleum industry. In April 2012, China's crude oil output reached 16.52 million metric tons, a drop of 1.6% year over year; and the import of crude oil reached 21.8 million metric tons, an increase of 6.6%. From January to April 2012, the accumulative output of crude oil reached 66.55 million metric tons, a drop of 1.5% from the same period last year; and the import of crude oil reached 88.36 million metric tons, an increase of 4.1%.

In April 2012, China's crude oil processing volume reached 32.77 million metric tons, a drop of 2.4% year over year; and the output of product oil reached 20.59 million metric tons, an increase of 1.0%. From January to April 2012, the accumulative processing volume of crude oil reached 137.68 million metric tons, an increase of 1.1% from the same period last year; and the output of product oil reached 88.36 million metric tons, an increase of 4.1%.

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