China’s crude oil imports are expected to increase by 2% in 2020 due to the drop in oil prices, while apparent crude oil consumption is seen rising by 1-2%, according to Reuters.

It is expected that China’s refined oil products demand will fall by about 5% due to the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent shut down of industrial plants and frozen travel. This will be the first time that demand shrinks since 2002.

China’s natural gas consumption is estimated to rise 3% this year to 313.5 billion cubic metres (bcm), representing the slowest annual growth in two decades.