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China Marine Bunker (PetroChina) Co. Ltd. (Chimbusco) - China's largest physical supplier of marine fuel - has said that it forecasts annual demand for marine fuel in the country to increase by up to 20 percent by 2013.

According to General Manager Qin Zhigang, sales growth is expected to continue during the 2009-2013 period, but at a slower rate than the 39 percent surge in bunker consumption recorded in 2008. The company predicts that growth will therefore decline during this five year period to 11 - 20 percent.

Qin Zhigang said the slowdown in annual growth is due to the international economic crisis and the fact that China's marine fuel market has reached maturity following an unprecedented upsurge in demand in previous years. He pointed out, however, that the growth rate of the Chinese market may still be higher than in other Asian markets during the 2009-2013 period.

Qin Zhigang said that ports in Southern China accounted for 38 percent of the country's sales, whilst the East region accounted for 37 percent of total demand and Bohai Bay in north China accounted for 25 percent.

In order to meet the expected increase in demand over the coming years, Qin Zhigang said Chimbusco will invest 10 billion yuan (about 1.46 billion U.S. dollars) to build a new fleet.

Chimbusco says it currently has more than 100 vessels ranging from 5,000 dwt to 500 dwt for the supply of bunker fuel and fresh water.

The company has more than 20 branch offices located in major ports such as Dalian, Qinhuangdao, Tianjin, Qingdao, Lianyungang, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Zhanjiang, Yantai, Nangtong, Nanjing, Wuhan, Zhoushan, Ningbo, Fujian, Xiamen, Shantou, Maoming, Haikou and Fangcheng.