China loses top oil importer rank as refineries shuts for repairing
Published on Mon, 08 Jun 2015 60 times viewed
Bloomberg reported that China imported the least crude in 15 months, surrendering its lead as the world’s biggest oil buyer to the US.
Overseas purchases dropped to 23.24 million metric tonne in May, according to preliminary data released by the General Administration of Customs in Beijing. That’s the lowest level since February 2014 and equivalent to 5.5 million barrels a day, down from a record 7.4 million a day in April.
According to ICIS China, a Shanghai-based commodities researcherChina’s record appetite for crude had bolstered OPEC’s strategy of pumping into an oversupplied global market, and a slowdown in buying could worsen the glut. Purchases declined amid increased refinery maintenance and as port storage facilities filled up. The U.S. imported about 6.9 million barrels a day in May, based on weekly data from the government.
Mr Amy Sun, an ICIS analyst, said that “The fall in single-month imports may be a result of peak refinery shutdown. Crude oil trading ports, especially Dalian, are also pretty full after the buying spree in April, leaving limited space for more stockpiles.”
According to the customs administration, China’s top refiners shut a total of 882,000 barrels a day of processing capacity in May, the most this year, according to ICIS. Dalian West Pacific Petrochemical Refinery in the northeast, the largest plant using seaborne oil, closed for maintenance from April 20th to May 25th. Dalian’s ports ranked third by crude imports behind Ningbo and Qingdao, receiving 31.4 million tonne in 2014.
China remained as a net fuel exporter in May, buying 2.32 million tonne of oil products and selling 2.44 million tonne. It imported 14.25 million tonne of coal, down 4.6% from April.
Source : Bloomberg