UPDATE 2-China 2010 crude oil imports up 17.5 pct to record high

* 2010 crude imports +17.5 pct at a record 4.79 mln bpd

* December crude imports at 4.9 mln bpd

* Crude imports growth may slow down in 2011

* Dec fuel import +44 pct on mth, highest since July 2008

(Adds graphic link, trader's comments)

By Judy Hua and Chen Aizhu

BEIJING, Jan 10 (Reuters) - China's crude oil imports rose
17.5 percent to a record 4.79 million barrels per day (bpd) in
2010 from a year ago, official data showed on Monday, but the
growth may slow this year as fewer new refineries come onstream.

Chinese oil demand is a indicator watched by traders for
clues where the market might be headed.

In December, the world's second-largest crude buyer
imported 1.9 percent less crude from a year earlier at 4.91
million bpd, data from China's General Administration of
Customs showed, as refiners trimmed production as the cost of
crude climbed.

"There will be fewer new refineries coming onstream this
year, compared to last year, so crude import growth may slow
down," said a veteran Chinese oil trader who declined to be
named.

He expected crude imports to rise 10 percent this year if
oil product demand rise 5 percent.

HIGHEST NET FUEL IMPORTS

In December, China's net imports of oil products were
the highest since July 2008, just before the Beijing Olympics,
expanding by nearly 44 percent over November, as oil
firms stepped up imports of diesel to plug a domestic shortage.

China turned a net fuel exporter in December 2009 for the
first time since 1993.

"China will remain as a net importer of oil products in
the near future, but the net importing volumes may narrow,"
said the veteran trader.

"Diesel exports may start again soon as demand for power
generation and shipping will fall sharply during the Chinese
New Year period," he added.

China's New Year falls in early February this year.

December imports of refined oil products C-FUIMP
rose 12.5 percent to 3.96 million tonnes while exports of
oil products C-FUEXP fell 9.1 percent to 1.89
million tonnes, resulting in net fuel imports of 2.07 million
tonnes.

China's oil demand has hit record highs last year, with
apparent oil demand rising 13.9 percent from a year earlier to
a record high of 9.34 million barrels per day in November. But
the country's top refiner Sinopec Corp expects it to
grow 5-6 percent per year over the next five years.
[ID:nTOE6AT01R]

Real demand growth could be lower as the government and
its state firms have been quickly building up stockpiles since
2006 to improve their capacity to cope with potential supply
bottlenecks.

On Saturday, top energy official Zhang Guobao told Reuters
that the second phase of strategic oil reserves were still
under construction and were not being filled yet.[ID:nTOE70700D]

China's commercial crude oil inventories fell 3.2 percent
in November from October, as refiners tapped stockpiles to
feed plants operating at capacity to fend off a domestic
diesel shortage, data from the official Xinhua news agency
showed. [ID:nTOE6BM01K]

China's refining capacity will hit 600 million tonnes, or
12 million barrels per day, by 2015, state media quoted Zhang
Guobao as saying last week.

That signals a rise of about 20 percent in refining
capacity over five years, less than a Reuters calculation
based on estimates from industry officials and local media,
which showed China was likely to add more than 3.0 million bpd
of new refining capacity between 2011 and 2015. [ID:nTOE70506W]