China’s Southwest Hit by Fuel Crunch

BEIJING (AP)


The crunch follows a diesel shortage in China’s export-driven southeast in October and November that disrupted trucking and prompted the government to order suppliers to take emergency measures.

Fuel ran short in Yunnan after a pipeline used to deliver gasoline was switched to carrying diesel in response to the shortage, the state Xinhua News Agency said. The pipeline is owned by China’s biggest refiner, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec.

The shortages have highlighted China’s soaring fuel consumption amid economic growth that is expected to top 11 percent this year and growing automobile ownership.

AP