China’s Refinery Runs Slip as War Squeezes Crude Supply

Chinese refinery processed 2.2% less crude last month, at an average daily of 14.52 million barrels daily amid the war-related squeeze on oil supply.

Fuel output was also down, with gasoline shedding 2.95% to 13.51 million tons and kerosene production falling by 3.72% to 5.13 million tons. Diesel fuel production was up modestly, by 0.88%17.49 million tons.

Domestic oil production, meanwhile, hit an all-time high of 4.49 million barrels daily, official data showed today, as cited by Reuters. Natural gas production in China also increased in March, to 23.4 billion cu m.

Over the first three months, refinery throughput went up by 1.1% to 14.95 million barrels daily. Oil production averaged 4.44 million barrels daily over the three months to March, up by1.3% from a year earlier. Natural gas production inched up by 3% over the quarter to 68.1 billion cu m, the data also showed.

Last month, China also saw a dip in crude oil and natural gas imports because of the war in the Middle East. Natural gas imports were down by 11% last month. At 8.183 million tons, the March total brought China’s year-to-date gas imports 4% lower than they were in 2025. Imports of liquefied natural gas, according to preliminary data, may have plummeted by 22% on the year in March to 3.74 million tons.

In crude oil, China imported 2.8% less in March than a year earlier, at a total of 49.98 million tons. Since the start of the year, China’s crude oil imports have been up by a substantial 8.9%, thanks to Beijing’s continued stockpiling drive that began in 2024.

It was thanks to this stockpiling that China has been relatively insulated from energy price shocks, unlike other Asian nations that lack the capacity to accumulate such significant stockpiles. Still, the world’s largest oil importer has been cautious with supply, tightening fuel exports early on in the war.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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