China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association (CPCIA) said on Tuesday the country had produced 16.17 million tons of crude oil in July, up 5 percent over the same month last year.

This brought the nation's crude oil production to 110 million tons in the first seven months, an increase of 2.2 percent over the same period last year, the CPCIA said.

The nation processed 200 million tons of crude oil and produced 120 million tons of refined oil during the January to July period, an increase of 5.8 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively, over the same period last year.

The country's petroleum and chemical industry saw its gross industrial output value hit 613.14 billion yuan (US$89.37 billion) in July, up 38.8 percent over the same month last year.

The total output value of petrochemical products hit 3.83 trillion yuan in January-July period due to booming demand in world markets, representing a 32.4 percent increase year on year.

Feng Shiyuan, the CPCIA's deputy secretary general, predicted oil prices would continue to rise in the latter half of this year, and were expected to stay around US$110 per barrel.

"A surging crude price will squeeze refiners' profits, and some industries may face big losses."

China is one of the world's biggest producers and consumers of oil. Last year, it produced 186.66 million tons of oil and consumed more than 300 million tons.

(Xinhua News Agency August 20, 2008)