In October, China’s crude oil imports dropped as the buying frenzy fades, and as the country’s independent refineries have run out of import quotas.
The country’s General Administration of Customs data showed that last month, crude imports were at 42.56 million tonnes or 10 million bpd, down from September’s 11.8 million bpd or October 2019’s 10.72 million bpd.
In the first ten months of the year, China bought a total of 458.56 million tonnes of crude or 11 million bpd, a 10.6% jump year-on-year. According to estimates, the country’s crude stockpiles in the first three quarters could hit 1.7 million bpd.
Many of China’s independent refineries have used close to all import quotas for the year. They make up for almost a quarter of the country’s total crude imports.
Looking ahead, crude imports could still pick up in the upcoming months as port congestion has eased further. Moreover, Beijing has recently issued total import quotas for next year, which is raised by 20% year-on-year for non-state entities to 243 million tonnes.
On a related note, in October, China’s refined oil product exports skyrocketed by 46.6% month-on-month to 5.79 million tonnes. Natural gas imports stood at 7.53 million tonnes, showing a 15.5% yearly climb. This winter, the country’s gas demand is estimated to jump by around 10%.
