China's crude oil output down 2.3% in April

BEIJING - China's crude oil output fell 2.3 percent year-on-year in April, data showed.

Crude oil output of major producers came in at 15.51 million tons, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The country's imports in April reached 39.46 million tons, registering a record high daily average of 1.3 million tons.

In April, refineries processed 49.58 million tons of crude oil, up 11.5 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, China's natural gas output grew 6.3 percent year-on-year to 12.89 billion cubic meters in April, while imports of natural gas grew 34.2 percent year-on-year to reach 6.82 million tons, registering a 7-month streak of over 30 percent growth.

China aims to increase annual domestic crude oil output to 200 million tons by 2020, while supply capacity for natural gas should exceed 360 billion cubic meters.