Data released on September 15 reveal that August saw a narrower decline in raw coal production, steady growth in crude oil output, a rebound in natural gas production, and stable electricity generation.

In August, raw coal output from industrial enterprises above the designated size totalled 360 million tonnes, reflecting a 7.7% year-on-year decrease, with the rate of decline narrowing by 2.4 percentage points compared to July. Daily average output reached 11.67 million tonnes. For the January-August period, cumulative raw coal production amounted to 3.06 billion tonnes, down 3.3% year-on-year.

Coal, oil and natural gas production details

The contraction in coal production is easing. August output of raw coal stood at 360 million tonnes, representing a 7.7% annual decline — a reduction in the pace of decrease by 2.4 percentage points from the previous month. Average daily production was 11.67 million tonnes. Over the first eight months of the year, aggregate output reached 3.06 billion tonnes, 3.3% below the corresponding period last year.

Crude oil production continued its steady expansion. August crude output totalled 18.43 million tonnes, up 0.8% from a year earlier, with the growth rate unchanged from July. Daily production averaged 595,000 tonnes. Cumulative output for January-August reached 146.39 million tonnes, reflecting a 0.9% year-on-year increase. The decline in crude oil processing volumes is moderating, with August processing totalling 59.07 million tonnes — a 6.9% annual decrease that represents an improvement of 8.9 percentage points compared with July's contraction. Daily processing averaged 1.906 million tonnes. For the eight-month period, total crude processed amounted to 456.12 million tonnes, down 6.6% year-on-year.

Natural gas output has shifted from decline to growth. August production reached 21.4 billion cubic metres, up 0.8% year-on-year against a 0.9% contraction in July. Daily output averaged 690 million cubic metres. Cumulative production for January-August stood at 175.7 billion cubic metres, 1.1% higher than the same period last year.

Electricity generation performance

Power generation remained broadly stable. August electricity output from designated-scale industries totalled 943.8 billion kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year decrease of 0.8%, with daily generation averaging 30.44 billion kilowatt-hours. Over January-August, aggregate generation reached 6,647.6 billion kilowatt-hours, up 2.4% year-on-year.

By power source, August data show thermal power's decline widened, hydropower growth slowed, while nuclear, wind and solar power accelerated. Thermal generation dropped 4.3% year-on-year — a contraction 0.8 percentage points larger than in July. Hydropower rose 2.8%, with growth slowing by 3.9 percentage points. Nuclear generation climbed 9.4%, accelerating by 2.8 percentage points. Wind power increased 7.9%, gaining 3.4 percentage points of momentum, while solar generation surged 10.3%, with growth quickening by 4.7 percentage points.

The data originates from the official website of the National Bureau of Statistics.