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Chinese refiners to raise output to ease supply crunch
Beijing (AFP) Nov 6, 2007 China's state-controlled oil refiners have pledged to increase output to ease a domestic supply crunch that led to nationwide fuel price hikes, official media said Tuesday. China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), the country's two major refiners, made the promise during a meeting Monday between top company executives and government officials, Xinhua news agency said. The two companies precipitated the supply shortfall last month by withholding stock in an apparent protest against government-set domestic fuel prices. The firms had been squeezed between those mandated prices and soaring world oil prices, industry experts have said. However, the companies have now vowed to take measures to secure stable domestic supplies of refined oil, including restricting exports, Xinhua said. They also would take steps to raise refining capacity, speed up distribution, and increase oil exploration. The government on November 1 raised prices of gasoline, diesel oil, and aviation kerosene by around 10 percent to entice refiners to release more product. Authorities had previously resisted giving up control of fuel prices amid fears over inflation, already running at an uncomfortably high level of 6.2 percent in September and 4.1 percent in the first nine months of the year. For China's control-conscious communist rulers, one fear is that inflation would lead to social unrest, but that appeared to have been trumped by concern over tense scenes at fuel distribution points last month as the shortage began to bite. Anger turned to tragedy when at least two drivers were killed in separate parts of the country as violence flared in fuel lines, according to state press reports. International oil prices have jumped around 30 percent since 2005 to above 90 dollars a barrel. A top Sinopec official insisted last week that supplies would remain tight until a more market-based domestic pricing system was put in place. Related Links Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Analysis: Chinese arms and African oil
Hong Kong (UPI) Nov 5, 2007 China has been promoting arms-for-oil deals with Africa as the continent is becoming one of its major sources of oil. Since last year, top Chinese leaders and military officers have made frequent visits to Africa. And at the Zhuhai Air Show under way this week in southern China's Guangdong province, military delegations from African countries including Sudan, Angola and Zimbabwe have made frequent appearances. |
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