(Yicai Global) Feb. 17 -- China’s dependence on foreign oil and natural gas declined for the first time last year, as demand stalls amid a slowdown in the macroeconomy, high energy prices and the severer-than-expected fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

China’s reliance on oil imports dipped 0.8 percentage point in 2022 from the year before to 71.2 percent, while that of natural gas tumbled 4.4 percentage points to 40.2 percent, the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation said on its WeChat account.

China imported 508 million tons of crude oil in 2022, a drop of 1 percent from a year earlier and falling for the second straight year for the first time since 2001, the federation said. While imports of natural gas plunged 10.4 percent year on year to 152.1 billion cubic meters.

Despite the declining volume, soaring prices meant that the value of China’s oil and gas imports and exports for the year jumped 21.7 percent to USD105 trillion, according to the General Administration of Customs. The value of imports surged 22.2 percent to USD690.1 billion while that of exports jumped 20.6 percent to USD356.5 billion.

Demand for oil has slumped amid the world’s sagging economic performance and supply growth is also limited due to lack of investment and sanctions such as the US’ sanctions on Russia, the federation said.

The price of Brent crude should average between USD80 and USD90 per barrel this year, which is still a high price but lower than 2022, it said, adding that China’s chemical raw materials and products industries may perform better this year.

Editor: Kim Taylor