Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Chinese oil consumption is down in 2024 and 2025.


> Overall Chinese oil demand continues to increase, with growth dominated by petrochemical feedstocks, which are converted into plastics and fibres rather than burnt as fuels.

https://www.iea.org/commentaries/oil-demand-for-fuels-in-chi... (March 2025).


Also from that article:

"while China was responsible for more than 60% of global increase in overall oil demand between 2013 and 2023, it represented less than 20% of last year’s rise, largely as a result of its slowdown in fuel use."


...which means that oi consumption rises slower, not that it decreases, doesn't it?


No, the article is very clear, right from the introduction that they are burning less oil as fuel in total.

It also says they used more oil in total, pushed by applications where it's not burnt. But that number is incompatible with other sources, so there's probably some totaling errors there.



That article cites the iea one. Both lead back to this chart [0] which shows total oil demand is still rising.

Demand for "gasoil gasoline and jet/kero" has fallen, but it is offset by still-growing demand for "petrochemical feedstocks". The former is used for fuel, while the latter used for plastics.

[0] https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/components-of...


Plastics and fuel have very different climate consequences.


Yes exactly. One puts the carbon in the air, and the other locks it up in a form that takes a very long time to degrade....




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: