Reuters
China claims that it made gains in energy security last year although oil imports continued to rise far faster than domestic production.
On Dec. 31, the official English-language China Daily reported that increases in oil and gas output were helping strengthen energy security in 2020, citing data from the National Energy Administration (NEA).
It is the first time that oil production picked up momentum after production dropped for three consecutive years, the paper said.
The report sowed confusion because it apparently used production numbers from 2019, identifying them as from 2020. The NEA had released higher production figures quoted by the official Xinhua news agency and Reuters earlier in the month.