China would replace US as world's largest oil importer: International Energy Agency

Energy-hungry China would replace the US as the world's largest oil importer by the 2020s followed by India, according to a report that said emerging economies are poised to claim most of the global energy supplies.

China, world's second largest economy, will be the main contributor to the increase in global energy use over the coming decade, after that India will replace it as the world's biggest driving force for energy demand in the 2020s, International Energy Agency (IEA) said here yesterday.

China's crude oil imports for 2013 are estimated at 289 million metric tonnes, up 7.3 per cent year-on-year, according to the China National Petroleum Corp Economics and Technology Research Institute in Beijing.

Maria van der Hoeven, executive director of the Paris-based IEA, said the global energy industry is developing to become a more efficient and low-carbon industry.

This is taking place as progress in technology along with high prices are helping to open up new resources, state-run China Daily quoted her as saying.

However, this does not mean the world is on the verge of an era of oil abundance, Van der Hoeven said.

The report said emerging economies would claim most of the global energy supplies over the coming decades.

IEA is an arm of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, an inter-governmental economic think tank among elite economies.

The IEA and six emerging economies - China, India, Russia, South Africa, Brazil and Indonesia - have signed a joint declaration involving closer cooperation with regard to global energy challenges.

"As the global energy map is redrawn, the IEA's 28 member countries face many of the same energy challenges as key emerging economies, and we all share a common interest in building a secure, sustainable energy future," Van der Hoeven said.