U.S. watches China's oil demand with concern

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's global quest for crude oil is acceptable as long as the Asian nation develops the deposits and doesn't hoard them, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday. China, the world's second-biggest oil user behind the United States, has recently scoured the globe for oil deals in Canada, Latin America and Africa. Rapid Chinese oil demand growth was one of the factors that pushed U.S. crude oil futures above $55 a barrel. "China's energy needs are going to be enormous in the future," said Christopher Hill, the State Department's assistant secretary for East Asia and the Pacific. "The question is, are they looking to develop energy or are they looking to take it off the market," Hill told a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing on China's growing economic might. China consumes more than 7 million barrels per day of crude oil, versus U.S. consumption of about 20 million bpd.

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