China's oil output dwindles while refiners guzzle record crude

Beijing

CHINA'S crude output slipped further to the lowest in more than seven years as oil's sustained slump discouraged the restart of old wells in the world's largest energy consumer. Processing by the nation's refiners hit a record.

Oil production in October fell 2.7 per cent from the previous month to about 3.795 million barrels per day (bpd), the lowest since May 2009, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics released Monday. Oil refiners processed 11.13 million bpd, Bloomberg calculations show.