China's car-driven oil demand to soar

China’s oil demand will increase by up to one third by 2015 as car ownership grows fast from its current low base, an executive at a think-tank run by Asia’s top oil refiner, Sinopec Group, said on Saturday.

Despite the current economic slowdown and government energy saving efforts, oil demand in the second-biggest oil consuming country will grow to 410 million-420 million tonnes in 2010 from around 380 million tonnes in 2008, said Mao Jiaxiang, vice president of Sinopec’s institute for economic and technology research.

Demand could hit 500 million-530 million tonnes by 2015 and 570 million-620 million tonnes by 2020, he told a conference in Beijing.
AliBaba