Chinanews, Beijing, Nov. 2 – China's oil production might reach its peak in 2020. By then, the country's oil output might reach 220 million tons, said Jing Dongsheng, an expert at the Oil and Natural Gas Energy Strategy Research Center at the Ministry of Land and Resources.

 

He made the statement while attending the second China Energy Strategy International Forum held in Beijing over the weekend.

 

China is very rich in coal resources and has some potential to further explore its oil resources. At the same time, it also has relatively large natural gas resources and the country has made much use of these resources now. There is great potential for China to develop non-conventional resources, said Jing.

 

When will the peak time for oil production arrive? The question became the center topic for the forum. In analyzing this issue, Kjell Aleklett, chairman of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas predicted that the peak time for oil might occur in 2015. Based on this statement, he said it would be quite an urgent task for all countries to develop alternative energy resources to replace oil and to change the energy structure in the world.

 

After the United States passed its oil peak time, there are now 63 countries in the world whose oil peak time is also over, said Pang Xiongqi, deputy president of the China University of Petroleum, Beijing.

 

In future, the whole world will rely more and more on the oil production of the Middle East region, said Mr. Farzam Kamalabadi, President of the Future Trends International Group. When oil market becomes more market-oriented, it will facilitate the cooperation between China and the Middle East region, he noted.