Oil and Energy

With real gross domestic product growing at a rate of 7% a year, China requires increasing amounts of oil to sustain its economic development. Its oil consumption grows by 7.5% per year, seven times faster than the U.S.' Growth in Chinese oil consumption has accelerated mainly because of a large-scale transition away from bicycles and mass transit toward private automobiles, more affordable since China's admission to the World Trade Organization.

Consequently, by year 2010 China is expected to have 90 times more cars than in 1990. With automobile numbers growing at 19% a year, projections show that China could surpass the total number of cars in the U.S. by 2030.

Chinese gasoline prices now ranked amongst the lowest in the world for oil-importing countries, and are a third of retail prices in Europe and Japan, where steep taxes are imposed to discourage gasoline use.

Though during the 1970s and 80s China was a net oil exporter, it became a net oil importer in 1993 and is growingly dependent on foreign oil. China currently imports 32% of its oil and is expected to double its need for imported oil between now and 2010 and become the second largest world oil consumer. A report by the International Energy Agency predicted that by 2030, Chinese oil imports will equal imports by the U.S. today.

Shayne Heffernan a leading authority on China has nominated the Countries Oil Industry to grow 5 fold in the next 10 years.