China produced a record amount of fossil fuels in 2022

According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the level of coal output reached 4.5 billion tons last year. It is 9% bigger than the data for 2021. Gas output increased by 6.4% by 218 billion cubic meters. The level of oil production exceeded 200 million tons for the first time since 2015, helping to reduce the country's dependence on expensive imports.

Power outages and droughts of the last year showed China's vulnerability related to the small number of energy products. Now, the removal of strict three-year anti-COVID restrictions imposed an obligation on energy producers to ensure the constant availability of affordable fuel.

December’s data showed that the sudden removal of anti-COVID restrictions in China had little effect on resource extraction. The extraction of all types of resources grew in a month, compared with the December of last year. The figures for coal and gas hit the record.

The level of crude oil processing also increased in a month. However, the level of oil processing decreased in 2022 compared to the record numbers of 2021. It happened because the anti-COVID restrictions limiting the mobility of citizens affected the demand.