China says its crude oil ouput to hit all-time peak in 2025

China’s domestic crude oil production is expected to reach a record 215 million metric tons in 2025, according to the latest data from the National Energy Administration (NEA).

The milestone caps a period of exploration breakthroughs and steady output growth, marking a new phase of efficiency gains and green development for the country’s oil and gas sector, per China Daily.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025), China added 105 million tons of new crude oil production capacity, with offshore oil emerging as a key growth driver. For five consecutive years, offshore production has consistently accounted for more than 60 per cent of the nation’s new petroleum output.

In the natural gas sector, China has maintained year-on-year production increases of 10 billion cubic meters for nine straight years, reinforcing its position as the world’s fourth-largest natural gas producer. By the end of 2025, natural gas output is projected to reach 260 billion cubic meters (bcm), a 35 per cent increase compared with the previous five-year plan period.

Over the same period, cumulative newly proven geological reserves exceeded 7 billion tons for oil and 7 trillion cubic meters for natural gas, representing increases of roughly 43 per cent for oil and 40 per cent for natural gas compared to the prior five-year period.

Supporting this growth, China’s national oil and gas pipeline network has expanded to 195,000 kilometres, accelerating the development of a unified national energy grid.

Hu Jianwu, deputy director of the NEA’s petroleum and natural gas department, said the sector is entering a new stage of quantitative and efficiency growth alongside green development, establishing a more secure, efficient, and resilient modern oil and gas production, supply, storage, and sales system.

“This system provides a solid guarantee for national energy security and stable economic and social development,” Hu added.

By Khagan Isayev