Aging fields lead to oil output drop

CHINA'S crude oil output fell 1.7 percent last month as aging fields prompted the world's second-biggest energy user to boost imports.

Oil production fell to 15.47 million metric tons (about 113 million barrels) in July from a year earlier, according to an e-mailed statement yesterday from the Beijing-based China Mainland Marketing Research Co, which compiles data for the National Bureau of Statistics. The nation's crude oil imports surged 39 percent to a record in July as production from domestic fields failed to keep pace with energy demand.