BEIJING (Commodity Online) : China’s oil output of 189 million tons in 2009 earned the dragon nation the no 4 rank in global production last year.

According to China’s Ministry of Land and Resources, the country replaced Iran as the No. 4 biggest oil producer in 2009.

China's oil output in 2009 accounted for 5.4 percent of the world's total, following Russia, Saudi Arabia and the U.S.

However, domestic output meets half of China's oil demand, it said.  China's 2009 domestic oil output reached 189 million tons, while the amount of imports was 204 million tons.

The ministry said China's oil demand can be roughly calculated by adding the output and import numbers, which means China's output only accounted for 48 percent of its oil demand in 2009.

The annual output increased by about 1 to 2 percent in recent years, which is lower than the increasing rate of the demand.

The newly increased demand is mainly met by imports even after Sinopec’s takeover of Addax Petroleum Corp in 2009 has boosted its overseas oil production.