First Quarter Sees Declining of Energy Output in ChinaChina's production of energy dropped in the Jan-March period, according to the latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics.Total energy production in the first three months amounted to 215.34 million tons of standard coal equivalent, dipping 1.9 percent from the same 1999 period. Production of coal dropped 7.5 percent to 184.23 million tons, while that of gasoline surged 13.8 percent to 100.67 million tons. During the period, China turned out 40.82 million tons of crude oil, 3.4 percent more than that of the same period last year. Output of natural gas, at the same time, soared 13.3 percent to hit 6.97 billion cubic meters. In the meantime, power output increased 8.7 percent to 299.91 billion kwh. The thermal power output amounted to 257.27 billion kwh, up 5.9 percent year-on-year, and hydro-electric power output rose 29.8 percent to 39.03 billion kwh. |
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