China's oil output surges in June as state-owned refining facilities ramp up their operations
China's crude throughput in June increased 8.5% compared to a year ago, official data revealed on Tuesday. State-owned refineries saw an increase in operations, and a return in profits, according consultancies.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the world's second largest oil consumer processed about 15,15 million barrels of crude per day in June.
Calculations based on data show that the daily processing rate has increased by 8.8% since May, reaching the highest level seen since September 2023.
According to Chinese consultancy OilChem, the total capacity of refineries that were undergoing maintenance was 107.7 millions tons per annum, a decrease of 22.2 million tonnes from May.
Data from the consultancy Sublime China Information show that in June, independent refineries saw their utilisation drop by two percentage points, to 67.9%. State-owned refineries, however, saw an increase of 5.3 points, to 79.95%.
According to OilChem, state-owned refiners made a profit per ton of 1,121 Yuan ($156.40), up 83% compared to May and 155% compared to a year ago, due to a drop in crude input costs per ton by 306 Yuan, while product prices increased.
In June, Shandong independent refiners made an average profit per ton of imported crude oil of 355 Yuan, down 6.2% from the previous month, as rising feedstock prices outpaced increases in product price.
JLC, a Chinese consultancy, predicted that the average operating rates of state-owned refining plants would reach around 83.5% during the third quarter. This is an increase of 5.13 percentage points over the previous quarter. It's also slightly higher than the year before.
NBS data showed that China’s crude oil production rose by 1.4% in June compared to a year ago, reaching 18.2 million tonnes or 4.43 millions bpd.
The crude oil output in the first half of this year increased by 1.3%, to 108.48 millions tons or 4.38million bpd.
(Metric ton = 7.3 barrels for crude oil conversion) ($1 = 7.17 Chinese yuan) (Metric ton = 7.3 barrels when converted from crude oil) ($1 = $7.17 Chinese Yuan) (Reporting and editing by Sam Li, Kevin Liffey, Sonali Paul).
(source: Reuters)
