Chinese oil refining throughput jumped by 9% in July from a year earlier amid higher utilization capacity at state-owned refiners, according to official data released on Friday.
Chinese refiners processed 14.85 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil last month, per the data from the National Bureau of Statistics cited by Reuters.
The crude processing throughput was slightly lower compared to June this year, down by 1.95%.
June, however, saw the strongest oil refining levels in China in nearly two years. Improved fuel margins and the end of spring maintenance boosted oil refinery throughput in June to the highest level since September 2023.
Chinese refiners processed a total of 15.2 million bpd of crude oil into fuels last month, up by 8.5% from a year earlier, and up from the lows seen in April and May.
The July throughput remained strong, despite the monthly decline. Utilization across refineries rose from June and from July last year and stood at 71.84%, per data from consultancy Oilchem quoted by Reuters.
Crude oil imports into the world’s top crude importer jumped by 11.5% in July from a year earlier as major state refiners boosted processing rates, official data showed last week.
Last month, China imported 11.12 million bpd of crude, per data from the General Administration of Customs.
The import level was 5.4% lower compared to June, when China’s crude imports surged to 12.14 million bpd to the highest in almost two years. The spike in June imports reflected both restocking after refinery maintenance and opportunistic buying by independent refiners amid steep discounts on sanctioned barrels.
Chinese independent refiners, the so-called ‘teapots’ stocked up on Iranian barrels in June, while their overall imports were lower in July from the previous month.
State refiners, however, boosted imports in July as they accelerated run rates last month after the end of the maintenance period.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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