BEIJING, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The Chinese government said it expects to have invested more than $13 billion in oil and natural gas production by the end of the year.
The government said it was investing heavily in resource development to reduce the economy's reliance on oil and natural gas imports, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its monthly market report demand for its crude oil in August was down 124,000 barrels per day from the previous month. The United States, Canada, both Sudans, Russia, China and Colombia contributed to production gains from non-OPEC members.
Xinhua reported more than 36 billion barrels of oil reserves and nearly 92 trillion cubic feet of natural gas were discovered in China from 2008 to 2011.
Xinhua said China imported 58 percent of its oil needs and 30 percent of its natural gas last year.
Chinese energy demand is expected to increase along with economic expansion. OPEC said last week it expected Chinese economic growth would slow but remain healthy.
"There are some signs that the domestic economy in China is recovering or at least not slowing any further," the cartel's report stated.
