China's 2026 oil consumption set to fall 4.9%, PetroChina says
Business
China's oil consumption is expected to fall by 4.9% in 2026, landing at 753 million tons.
PetroChina credits this shift to the country moving toward cleaner energy and facing higher oil prices, a big change after a recent uptick in demand.
Chinese refineries expand as gas rises
Looking ahead, oil demand is predicted to level off and then shrink further to about 700 million tons by 2030.
Interestingly, even as oil use dips, China plans to boost its refining capacity by an extra 15 million tons per year.
Meanwhile, gas consumption is on the rise, expected to grow up to 2.5% in 2026, as well as demand for new materials like polyolefin elastomers and carbon fiber.