China Energy Outlook 2020 - Flipbook - Page 47
Figure 1-26. China’s Petroleum Refining by Product (1985-2017)
Sources: China Energy Group, 2016; NBS, various years (b).
Historically, diesel fuel - used both in freight hauling and in industry - has been the fuel in
greatest demand, but as road hauling began to decline after 2015, growth shifted to gasoline
for automobiles as the gasoline-powered fleet continued its strong expansion. The “dieselgasoline ratio,” used in China as in indicator of the imbalance in the refining system between
the two fuels, rose to a peak of 2.1 in 2008 (i.e. 2.1 tonnes of diesel produced for every 1 tonne
of gasoline) but has since declined to 1.4 in 2016 and 1.25 in 2018.
Similarly, China’s refineries have gradually adjusted the production yield in the system through
operational changes and changes in the crude oil slate from a high of 36% diesel yield in 2010 to
27.1% in 2018, and part of this reduction allowed the increase in jet kerosene production (both
middle distillates), rising from 4.6% of the total in 2010 to 7.2% in 2018. The combined gasoline
and naphtha yields (both light distillates) has climbed from 25.6% in 2010 to 29.9% in 2018.
China is a net importer of crude oil, natural gas, and coal, but the degree of import dependency
varies greatly. Figure 1-27 and Table 1-5 provide information on China’s 2017 imports and
exports of these energy commodities.
In 2018, crude oil imports accounted for 69% of the crude oil processed in domestic refineries,
with the largest import volumes from Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Angola (favored for its light low33