China's Crude Oil Output Down in July

China's crude oil output dropped 8.8% year on year to 16.64 million tonnes in July, data from the country's top economic planner showed. 
This brings total output for the first seven months of 2016 to 117.09 million tonnes, down 5.4% from the same period last year, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement. 
The drop came amid plans by China's oil giants to reduce oil output due to flagging crude oil prices. Sinopec, the largest oil refiner in China, and PetroChina, the largest oil and gas producer, have both lowered their oil production targets for 2016, China's News Agency (Xinhua) reported. 
In the seven months, natural gas output rose 2.1% to 77.7 billion cubic meters, while imports surged 17.9% to 40.8 billion cubic meters. Consumption of natural gas rose 8.8% year on year to 113.9 billion cubic meters, according to the NDRC. 
From January to July, China refined 299.71 million tonnes of crude oil, up 8.7%year on year. 
Output of refined oil products rose 6.8% to 185.95 million tonnes, while consumption of refined products rose 4 percent to 164.82 million tonnes.