Crude oil processing at refineries in China remained near two-year lows in August due to outages at several state-owned facilities and independent plants, which reduced their output amid reduced margins and tepid demand.
Refineries processed 53.66 million tonnes of crude last month, 6.5% less than a year earlier, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Friday (16).
That equates to 12.64 million barrels per day (bpd), up slightly from 12.53 million bpd in July but still among the lowest throughput levels since early 2020.
Production in the first eight months was 434.89 million tonnes, down 6.3% year-on-year, and equivalent to around 13.06 million bpd.
China’s fuel demand has been hit hard this year as Beijing’s tough Covid-19 control measures have stifled mobility and economic activity, with analysts predicting the first annual contraction in oil demand in two decades.
Affecting August production, Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Corp’s 320,000 bpd oil unit only partially resumed operation mid-month after more than seven weeks of unplanned shutdown.
PetroChina Wepec’s 200,000 bpd plant only resumed operation at the end of August, after an interruption of almost three months.
Meanwhile, operations at independent refiners in east China’s Shandong refining hub averaged just under 65% of capacity in August, down from 70% in July, according to Chinese commodities consultancy JLC.
Independent plants have faced headwinds with Beijing launching a new tax investigation that is expected to tighten its profit margins.
Source: CNN Brasil
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