Taipei, July 2, 2009 (CENS)--Taiwan`s dependency on petroleum (expressed as the import value of crude oil over GDP) tumbled to 3.57% in the first quarter, less than half of last year`s 8.39% and the lowest of its kind in six years, according to the Cabinet-level Directorate General of Budget, Accounting & Statistics (DGBAS).

The sharp fall is mainly because of the economic downturn resulting in declining demand for petroleum, not to mention dropping oil prices in the international market.

Taiwan`s oil dependency hit a record high of 9.7% in 1980 and has been dipping since. The rate often hovered around 2% during the 1990s. Last year soaring international oil prices helped boost the rate to 8.39%, which again plunged to 3.57% in the first quarter of this year.

Dropping oil prices globally is the main reason for the fall in the oil dependency so far this year. Last year the OPEC prices of crude oil averaged US$95 per barrel and in the first five months of this year such price has sharply dropped to US$47.

Taiwan`s Oil Dependency (2004-2008 & Q1 of 2009)
Year	Import oil value (NT$B)	Import oil value/GDP as percentage
2004	438.9	3.97
2005	586.5	5.12
2006	765.8	6.43
2007	805.4	6.37
2008	1,034.9	8.39
Q1 2009	163.4 (first 4 months)	3.57

Source: DGBAS

(by Judy Li)