According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in May, raw coal production at industrial enterprises above the designated size (hereafter, large industrial enterprises) remained at a relatively high level, crude oil production grew steadily, natural gas production edged down, and power generation growth picked up.
1. Raw Coal, Crude Oil, and Natural Gas Production and Related Conditions
Raw coal production remained at a relatively high level. In May, large industrial enterprises produced 400 million mt of raw coal, down 1.7% YoY, with a daily average production of 12.81 million mt.
From January to May, raw coal production at large industrial enterprises reached 1.98 billion mt, down 0.3% YoY.
Crude oil production grew steadily. In May, large industrial enterprises produced 18.57 million mt of crude oil, up 0.5% YoY, with growth slowing by 0.7 percentage points from April; daily average production was 599,000 mt.
From January to May, crude oil production at large industrial enterprises totaled 91.31 million mt, up 1.1% YoY.
The decline in crude oil processing widened. In May, large industrial enterprises processed 53.72 million mt of crude oil, down 9.1% YoY, with the decline expanding by 3.3 percentage points from April; daily average processing volume was 1.733 million mt.
From January to May, crude oil processed at large industrial enterprises reached 292.8 million mt, down 2.2% YoY.
Natural gas production edged down. In May, large industrial enterprises produced 21.7 billion m³ of natural gas, down 2.2% YoY, compared to a 1.9% increase in April; daily average production was 700 million m³.
From January to May, natural gas production at large industrial enterprises amounted to 111.7 billion m³, up 1.7% YoY.
2. Power Generation
Power generation growth at large industrial enterprises accelerated. In May, power generation at large industrial enterprises reached 784.3 billion kWh, up 4.2% YoY, with growth accelerating by 1.6 percentage points from April; daily average generation was 25.3 billion kWh. From January to May, power generation at large industrial enterprises totaled 3,912.9 billion kWh, up 3.6% YoY.
By type, in May, growth in thermal power at large industrial enterprises slowed, while growth in hydropower and solar power accelerated, and nuclear and wind power shifted from decline to growth. Specifically, thermal power at large industrial enterprises grew 2.1% YoY, with growth slowing by 1.0 percentage point from April; hydropower increased by 13.0%, with growth accelerating by 0.8 percentage points; nuclear power grew 5.0%, compared to an 8.7% decline in April; wind power edged up 0.5%, reversing a 5.0% drop in April; and solar power rose 12.1%, with growth accelerating by 5.0 percentage points.
