China to maintain robust petroleum demand in Q4

China’s demand for petroleum, including crude oil and oil products, is expected to rise by 9.3% year-on-year to 103 million tons in the fourth quarter of this year, a faster growth than the same period of past years because of the economic recovery, Gong Jinshuang, an energy analyst with CNPC, predicts. The forecast is based on the upbeat market expectation that the growth of China’s GDP in the fourth quarter would likely climb above 9% or even hit 10%. Gong anticipates that China’s crude run in the fourth quarter will increase by 15.3% to 97 million tons year-on-year, the highest so far in 2009. (November 3, 2009)