Speaking at an energy conference in Amsterdam the Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission Zhang Guobao said, “The growth in demand from China for oil is not enough to affect international oil prices. The situation in the Middle East and speculators are contributing to the high prices.”
“[China’s] oil imports reached 1.72 million barrels a day last year, but that represented only a fraction of overall global demand. China [is] currently meeting the bulk of its oil requirements through its own resources,” added Zhang.
Independent analysts, however, do not subscribe to Zhang’s view. In an interview with The China Post daily, Northern Securities analyst Li Hongbin said, “China [is] playing a role in pushing up prices to multi-year highs. It is hard to tell exactly to what degree China affects oil prices, but the fast demand growth has definitely provided some kind of a boost.”
US energy investment bank Petrie Parkman was a lot more direct. In a recent report the bank said, “Bottom-line: Chinese oil demand growth is the single most dynamic factor in the worldwide demand picture over the coming decade, and critical to OPEC being able to expand output.”
