Russia to supply oil to Chinese refinery

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BEIJING, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Russian oil companies under a deal with the China National Petroleum Co. will supply 70 percent of the oil needed for a joint refinery, Beijing said.

Chinese Energy Minister Zhang Guobao said that "through friendly talks," Russian oil companies agreed to supply the bulk of the required oil at a joint refinery run by CNCP and Russian energy company Rosneft, Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports.

Asian suppliers will supply the remaining 30 percent, he added. Rosneft owns 49 percent of the Chinese refinery, which would produce about 15 million tons of oil products per year.

The International Energy Agency said in a July report that the surging Beijing economy has redefined the global energy sector as China passes the United States as the world's largest energy consumer.

The IEA in its latest report said China outpaced U.S. energy consumption by 4 percent in 2009. The United States, the report said, had been the largest energy consumer in the world since the dawn of the 20th century.