ERIC NG

Most of the world's leading economies will be net importers of oil by 2010, and China is just one more competitor for global supplies, the head of ExxonMobil said yesterday.

Addressing a joint luncheon of the American Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, chairman and chief executive Lee Raymond said that rivalry for petroleum between China and Japan was no different than that between all energy-hungry economies.

"The fact that China and Japan are competing ... while it's interesting, it's not really the story. Every country in the world is competing for energy supplies," he said.

By 2010, only a few countries among the world's major economies, including Norway and Canada, would be energy self-sufficient, the industry veteran added.

China and Japan are in an increasingly hostile dispute over exploration and production rights in the East China Sea.

Both countries are also trying to convince Russia to approve a key oil pipeline route in their favour.

Mr Raymond said that efficient use of energy was key to sustainable development and industrial competitiveness.

"The fact that everybody is competing in the pool means that everybody is going to operate on the same cost base for energy. Therefore, there's going to be a competitive advantage for those countries who can use energy more efficiently."

He said mainland oil firms had yet to prove their competitiveness in the world market.

"I think it's a chapter yet to be written ... you have to have very strong financial backing, technology - usually proprietary technology - which none of them has at this point, and that is something very difficult to acquire."

While the International Energy Agency's forecast that China's oil import dependency will double to more than 80 per cent by 2030 has raised concerns, Mr Raymond pointed out that many developed economies depend almost entirely on imports.

ExxonMobil has forecast that demand for oil in Asia's emerging economies would more than double by 2030.