China's production and consumption of energy products is an important indicator of the current state of the global economy. Below are the indicators of the main energy products production in China in the fourth quarter of 2022 according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China.
In the fourth quarter of 2022 (4Q 2022) GDP at current prices, by production approach was 335,508 (100 million yuan) against 309271 (100 million yuan) in the previous quarter. Indices of GDP, at constant prices, by production approach compared to the same quarter last year was 102.9%. The utilization rate of national industrial capacity was 75.7% (down 1.7% from the same period last year, up 0.1% from the 3Q 2022). The growth in this indicator continued for the second quarter in a row.
The table shows comparative data on the production of other energy products.
China Energy Production 4Q 2022
| Production/Q | 4Q 2021 | 1Q 2022 | 2Q 2022 | 3Q 2022 | 4Q 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production of Crude Oil (average daily output, thousand tons) | 539.3 | 569 | 569 | 552.7 | 553 |
| Processing Capacity of Industrial Crude Oil (average daily Processing Capacity, thousand tons) | 1922.3 | 1902.5 | 1765.7 | 1780.3 | 1936.7 |
| Production of Natural Gas (average daily output, million cubic meters) | 580 | 630 | 580 | 550 | 630 |
| Industrial Power Generation (Average Daily Power Generation, TWh) | 21.92 | 21.94 | 21.53 | 25.13 | 22.66 |
| Import of crude oil (average monthly, thousand tons) | 41 910 | 42 616 | 41 556 | 39 306 | 45 983 |
| Import of natural gas (average monthly import, thousand tons) | 10 586 | 9 280 | 8 626 | 9 233 | 9 403 |
| Raw Coal Production (average monthly, million tons) | 370.86 | 360.79 | 369.98 | 376.60 | 388.03 |
| Coal Import (average monthly, million tons) | 30.9 | 17.3 | 21.0 | 28.7 | 30.8 |
Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China
As can be seen from the table, the excess of production volumes in the reporting quarter as compared to the fourth quarter of 2021 was achieved for all types of presented products. Natural gas production was higher than in the same quarter of 2021 by almost 9%. In contrast, imports of natural gas decreased by about 13%. Oil imports have increased, and coal imports were almost at the same level.
Electricity Generation by type energy source
Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China
China's electricity production in Q4 2022 was down from the previous quarter and slightly higher than in Q4 2021. The highest generation figures were in December.
More than 70% of China's electricity was generated by fossil fuel power plants. The second position in the share of generation sources is occupied by hydropower. When comparing the generation shares in Q4 2022 with Q4 2021, we can note a decrease in the share of hydropower by almost 2%, and increase in nuclear, wind and solar generation. Fossil fuel power plants generated electricity in Q4 2022 at the same level as in Q4 2021.
The share of power generation sources. Left - 4Q 2021, right - 4Q 2022
Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China
