China Oil Demand Growth Seen Easing in 2012 -CNPC Research

China's implied oil demand will likely rise 5 percent this year to 9.9 million barrels per day, according to an industry research report, a pace slower than 2011, as easing economic expansion caps fuel consumption in the world's No.2 user.

National crude throughput could climb to 470 million tonnes, or 9.4 million bpd, an increase of 5.4 percent or about 480,000 bpd this year, according to a forecast by a research arm of top state energy group CNPC.

The forecast throughput increase largely echoes a Reuters' poll of top Chinese oil refineries.

The 5-percent total oil demand growth compared to an expansion of 6.8 percent in 2011 as calculated by Reuters based on official trade and production figures. Implied oil consumption does not include inventory changes that China rarely releases.

The CNPC report also said China's natural gas consumption will grow 16.3 percent from a year earlier to more than 150 billion cubic metres this year.

China will boost imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by more than one-third this year to over 16 million tonnes, or 22 billion cubic metres (bcm), and imports via the central-Asia pipeline will surge two-thirds at 25 bcm, it said.

China will also add 38.2 million tonnes per year, or 764,000 bpd of new crude refining capacity in 2012, to bring the total refining capacity to 11.6 million bpd.

Net imports of crude oil will amount to 266 million tonnes this year, or 5.3 million bpd, according to the CNPC research institute.