China may be producing less oil, but it is refining more, fresh statistical data from Beijing has revealed, suggesting that Asia’s biggest oil consumer will continue with its international upstream push and imports will continue to increase as domestic demand expands. Last year, crude oil production in China fell by an annual 4 percent to 191.51 million tons — or about 3.85 million bpd — to the lowest in nine years on the back of maturing fields and few viable new discoveries at home. This was largely offset by imports, which continued to rise, booking a 10.1-percent annual jump to 8.43 million bpd. In November, these hit a record-high of over 9 million bpd. Analysts interviewed by Bloomberg expect the decline in local oil production to continue in the near term, but China’s maturing fields will not be the only or even main reason: China is shifting to natural […]