China's Crude Oil Imports in Oct Drop to Lowest in Three Years

Muyu Xu and Chen Aizhu
Monday, November 8, 2021

China's crude oil imports plunged in October to the lowest since September 2018, as large state-owned refiners withheld purchases because of rising prices while independent refiners were restrained by limited quotas to import.

The world's biggest crude oil importer brought in 37.8 million tonnes last month, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Sunday, equivalent to 8.9 million barrels per day (bpd).

That is down from 9.99 million bpd in September and 10.02 million bpd in the same period last year.

Over the January-October period, crude arrivals totaled 425.06 million tonnes, or 10.21 million bpd, down 7.2% year-on-year, the customs data showed.

Crude imports were down on a monthly basis for a second month and the decline has occurred amid a 62% jump in crude oil prices this year as economies open globally from COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, spurring fuel demand.

Beijing's crackdown on illicit trading in crude oil quotas and import allowances for independent oil refiners also weighed on purchases.

Customs data on Sunday also showed China's refined oil product exports for October fell 31.8% on-year to 3.95 million tonnes.

Natural gas imports, including piped and liquefied natural gas (LNG), were 9.38 million tonnes in October, up 24.6% from a year earlier.

Oil imports may be set to rise in November as refiners have vowed to address a shortfall in diesel and gasoline supplies that has pushed fuel prices higher.

Additionally, Beijing has issued 14.89 million tonnes of crude oil import quotas for independent refiners for the remaining period of 2021, and China's Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp (ZPC), operator of China's single largest refinery, has separately received a quota of 12 million tonnes.

(Reporting by Muyu Xu and Chen Aizhu)

Categories: Coastal/Inland Asia Oil Tankers

Related Stories

RINA Wins FEED Contract for Petronas’ Flagship CCS Project in Malaysia

ABL Secures Rig Moving Assignment with India's ONGC

Pakistan, Türkiye Deepen Oil and Gas Ties with Offshore Indus-C Block Deal

Vietsovpetro Brings BK-24 Oil Platform Online Two Months Early

Timor Gap Boosts Stake in Finder Energy’s Timor-Leste Oil Fields

Hanwha Ocean Enlists ABB for Singapore’s First Floating LNG Terminal

Saipem Bags $1.5B Contract for Türkiye Largest Offshore Gas Field

PTTEP Hires McDermott for Deepwater Subsea Job off Malaysia

TotalEnergies Inks 10-Year LNG Supply Deal with South Korea’s KOGAS

Japan Picks Wood Mackenzie to Assess Trump-Backed Alaska LNG Scheme

Current News

Pharos Energy Kicks Off Drilling Campaign Offshore Vietnam

Viridien to Shed More Light on Malaysia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Potential

US Pressure on India Could Propel Russia's Shadow Oil Exports

Energy Drilling’s EDrill-2 Rig Starts Ops for PTTEP in Gulf of Thailand

RINA Wins FEED Contract for Petronas’ Flagship CCS Project in Malaysia

ABL Secures Rig Moving Assignment with India's ONGC

Pakistan, Türkiye Deepen Oil and Gas Ties with Offshore Indus-C Block Deal

Eni-Petronas Gas Joint Venture Up for Launch in 2026

Vietsovpetro Brings BK-24 Oil Platform Online Two Months Early

Propane’s Economic Edge for Ports During Trade Uncertainty

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com