Sinopec, China's biggest oil refiner, is planning to import 60,000 tons of gasoline in September to help meet domestic demand, said an official of the company on Tuesday.

Arrangements for the imports have been fixed, including the time and place of delivery, said the official in charge of sales with Sinopec, adding the imported gasoline would arrive at the end of this month.

The demand for gasoline has surged due to increasing fuel consumption propelled by the end of a fishing moratorium, intensified farming in the autumn and persistent hot weather.

Meanwhile, the company wanted to keep some gasoline in store ahead of the National Day holidays to help ease the shortage in the domestic market, he said.

The market price of gasoline in China was 6,300 yuan (US$829) per ton while the CIF (cost, insurance and freight) of imported gasoline was about 6,800 yuan (US$895) per ton, said the official.

This means Sinopec would go almost 30 million yuan (US$3.9 million) in the red by selling the imported fuel.

In China, oil prices are controlled by the government, which has subsidized oil companies since 2005. Last year Sinopec received five billion yuan (US$657.9 million) from the government.

Since July, oil product supplies have fallen short of demand. Last month, China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, required China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and Sinopec, the country's two major gasoline producers, to increase market supplies in a bid to ensure market supply and stabilize oil prices.

Statistics show Sinopec's output of processed crude oil last month was up by 370,000 tons compared with the monthly average of the Jan.-July period while its export of oil products dropped by 160,000 tons, both contributing to a 390,000-ton increase of supply in the domestic market.

China has risen quickly to become the world's second largest oil consumer after the United States and the third biggest importer after the United States and Japan.

According to customs figures, China imported 145 million tons of crude oil and 36.4 million tons of refined oil in 2006, spending US$15.3 billion more than the previous year because of soaring oil prices in the global market.

The nation will use up to 350 million tons of oil this year, 10 million tons more than last year, said Jiang Xinmin, an expert with the Energy Institute under the NDRC.

(Xinhua News Agency September 12, 2007)