Petroleum consumption set for slower growth rate

The average annual growth rate of petroleum consumption will drop to 2.5 percent from 2013 to 2020 as the government tries to slow economic growth and reduce carbon emissions.

China will consume 590 million metric tons of petroleum in 2020, albeit at a slower growth rate, said Dai Jiaquan, deputy director of the Oil Market Research Office with the CNPC Economics and Technology Research Institute on Thursday.

In the last year, China consumed 490 million tons of petroleum, representing a 4.7 percent increase year-on-year, according to data from the institute.

From 2020 to 2030, petroleum consumption growth will continue to drop to an annual average of 1.5 percent.

By 2030, the country will consume about 690 million tons of petroleum.

During the 11th Five-Year-Plan period (2006-2010), China's annual petroleum consumption growth hit 7.7 percent.

The China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation estimated during a previous report that China's petroleum consumption growth can be reduced to under 5 percent annually from 2011 to 2015.