China processed report quantities of crude oil in 2021 to satisfy rising home consumption of petroleum merchandise, in accordance to evaluation by the US Vitality Info Administration (EIA). Within the second half of the yr, China processed barely much less crude oil and started exporting considerably much less gasoline and diesel than within the first half of the yr to make sure adequate home provide.
Supply: Graph by the U.S. Vitality Info Administration, based mostly on knowledge from China Normal Administration of Customs, as compiled by Bloomberg, L.P.
Based on China’s Nationwide Bureau of Statistics, China processed a report 14 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil in 2021, a 4.6% enhance from 2020. Crude oil processing in China was notably excessive within the first half of 2021, in response to excessive demand each domestically and elsewhere in Asia. Regardless of extra refinery capability, crude oil processing decreased by 0.4 million b/d within the second half of 2021 in contrast with the primary half.
Starting in August 2021, a number of COVID-19 outbreaks in China led to mobility restrictions, which in flip decreased home demand for petroleum merchandise. Mobility restrictions throughout the Winter Olympics and COVID-19 journey restrictions that started in March 2022 in a number of elements of China continued to scale back demand for petroleum merchandise in China at first of this yr. China’s crude oil processing has additionally declined as a result of comparatively excessive crude oil costs are making importing crude oil costlier.
As well as, China’s refiners met their petroleum product export quotas within the first half of the yr. They weren’t granted a second batch of export quotas till August, and people quotas have been comparatively low. These quotas set the utmost quantities of every product that refiners can export and are disseminated on a rolling foundation.
China’s exports of diesel and gasoline ended 2021 at decrease ranges than at first of the yr. Low petroleum product exports have continued into 2022 as a result of China’s first batch of export quotas in 2022 have been 56% decrease than its first batch in 2021. Due to these quotas, in February 2022, China exported the bottom quantity of diesel since early 2015.
