China had proven oil reserves, crude oil classified as practical to extract, totalling 6.5 billion tons at the end of 2003, the Ministry of Land and Resources said Monday. This amounts to 43% of China's estimated total recoverable reserves.
The figures, provided by China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), suggest the level of reserves could provide for steady output growth over the next 20 years.
The estimate is double the level estimated by BP, which put China's end-2003 proven reserves at 3.2 billion tons, sustainable for exploitation for 19 years.
No one at Sinopec was available for comment on the differences with BP's estimate but such figures are known to vary widely due to differing methods and assumptions.
China has overtaken Japan as the second largest oil consumer in the world. It is also the fifth biggest producer. Its oil consumption was 252.3 million tons last year and the figure is expected to reach 308 million tons this year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
China imported 91.13 million tons of crude last year, up 31.3% over 2002, with imports expected to rise 10% to 100 million tons this year.
Rising demand for crude has made energy security a critical issue for China which has started building four oil reserve facilities in the eastern provinces of Zhejiang, Shandong and Liaoning, capable of holding 30 days of supplies.
An industry official earlier said that China aims to meet the 90-day supply standard set by the IEA by 2015 by building more oil reserve facilities over the next few years.
