The company is expected to process 100-120 million tons of crude this year, 10-20 million tons higher than in 2006, said Zhang Hong, a senior official with PetroChina's refining and marketing unit.

This would indicate 40 million to 48 million tons of imports this year for China's top oil and gas producer alone.

Zhang told reporters on the sidelines of an industry forum in Shanghai that PetroChina's refining business will stay in the black if crude oil prices are below US$65 a barrel.

In 2006, crude output in PetroChina and its parent China National Petroleum Corp. accounted for nearly 60 percent of China's total.

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Analysts and industry experts had said China's reliance on overseas supply is set to rise despite recent major domestic finds including Petrochina's Jidong and Sinopec's Tahe oilfields.

China became a net oil importer in the mid-1990s and more than 45 percent of oil was sourced from overseas last year, as demand growth has been far outpacing increases in local supplies.

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