An employee checks crude oil processing equipment at the Shengli Oil Field in Dongying, Shandong province. [Photo by Hu Qingming/For China Daily]

BEIJING - China's crude oil output gained 1.5 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2020, data from the National Development and Reform Commission showed.

The output came in at 96.5 million tons for the January-June period, which saw 312.66 million tons of crude oil refined, up 2.4 percent year-on-year.

Apparent consumption of refined oil amounted to 153.86 million tons, down 6 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, natural gas output totaled 94.96 billion cubic meters in the first six months, up 9.9 percent year-on-year, the data showed.