Crude oil imports by China’s independent refiners dipped in June, amid the ongoing port congestion where vessels are waiting in a long queue to discharge their loads. Oil imports by these refiners stood at 4.4 million bpd or 18 million last month, declining by 0.5% from the record high of 4.42 million bpd.
An industry survey showed that ZPC increased crude imports from 2.17 million tons in May to 2.85 million tons in June. However, it only took 1.35 million tons of crude last month due to congestion problems at the Zhoushan port in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. The port also serves several Sinopec refineries in the region.
A ramp-up of oil imports amid low prices has created a long queue of vessels to discharge cargoes at some Chinese ports. As of the week beginning June 29, about 42.98 million barrels of crude were idled in Chinese waters for 15 or more days, tanker tracking data showed.
Another major independent refiner Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) received 2.28 million tons of crude oil in June, slumping from 3.35 million tons in May, as the refinery expected higher crude prices. On the other hand, imports by some smaller refineries increased in June thanks to the expansion at the Shandong port. However, tanker data showed about 67 crude cargoes were still waiting to discharge at the port as of Friday.
ChemChina imported a record 14.39 million tons of crude in June, 9.1% higher than the previous record high of 12.95 million tons in May. Chambroad Petrochemical’s crude imports stood at 885,000 tons in June, soaring from May’s 100,000 tons.
