Daily Energy Report
China oil demand, China refining, AI/energy reality check, TX gas pipeline, Swiss investigate sanctions evasion, EU green shift exposed, EU carbon pricing, and more. October 18, 2024
Chart of the Day: What Can We Learn from China’s Oil Demand in 2024?
Summary
Figure (1) shows trends in China oil demand since 1990 on a yearly basis. It shows that historically China’s oil demand declined only twice, and in both cases the demand was predicted: during the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and during the COVID lockdown in 2022. Growth in oil demand stalled in 2005 and 2008. Implementation of labor laws in 2005 shutdown private generation that depended heavily on diesel and fuel oil. The oil price spike in 2008 halted the growth in oil demand, although one could argue that it was both the price spike and the financial crisis. The question is: What is going on in 2024? The answer is discussed below.