19-08-08 China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association (CPCIA) said the country had produced 16.17 mm tons of crude oil in July, up 5 % over the same month last year.
This brought the nation's crude oil production to 110 mm tons in the first seven months, an increase of 2.2 % over the same period last year, the CPCIA said.

The nation processed 200 mm tons of crude oil and produced 120 mm tons of refined oil during the January to July period, an increase of 5.8 % and 6.9 %, respectively, over the same period last year. The country's petroleum and chemical industry saw its gross industrial output value hit yuan 613.14 bn ($ 89.37 bn) in July, up 38.8 % over the same month last year.
The total output value of petrochemical products hit yuan 3.83 tn in January-July period due to booming demand in world markets, representing a 32.4 % increase year on year.

Feng Shiyuan, the CPCIA's deputy secretary general, predicted oil prices would continue to rise in the latter half of this year, and were expected to stay around $ 110 per barrel.
"A surging crude price will squeeze refiners' profits, and some industries may face big losses."

China is one of the world's biggest producer and consumer of oil.
Last year, it produced 186.66 mm tons of oil and consumed more than 300 mm tons.