From BBC NEWS:
China’s craving for oil to drive its industrial boom and, to a lesser extent, satisfy its love affair with the motorcar, has helped to push up global crude oil prices.
In 2003, China raced past Japan to become the world’s second biggest consumer of petroleum products after the US.
In 2004, its thirst grew by 15%, while its output only rose 2%.
“They have a problem,” says Philip Andrews-Speed, an energy analyst at Dundee University and former BP China executive.
China accounted for 40% of the growth in oil demand over the last four years, says the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
