China’s oil thirst worrisome

China’s growing thirst for oil will place a greater strain on the world’s top supplier, Saudi Arabia, at the very time doubts are being raised about the kingdom’s ability to substantially increase production.

Should output falter in Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries, some analysts warn of growing tension – or even conflicts – over access to diminishing resources between China and the world’s biggest oil importers, the United States and Japan, unless alternative sources of energy are found.