Sinopec, a Chinese refiner, will increase oil imports outside of the Gulf
Sinopec, the Chinese oil refiner, will source more of its 'oil' from Brazil, Africa, and other countries to combat supply disruptions caused by Middle East conflict. This was announced on Monday after announcing Sunday's interim results.
Sinopec's first-half profit rose 19% despite the disruptions in oil supplies and the government's restrictions on passing on higher oil prices to consumers.
It said that the company would continue to strengthen its relationships with "stable" producers such as Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
CRUDE OIL SECURITY: Using 'all possible means'
Hou Qijun, chairman of Sinopec, said at a Hong Kong earnings briefing that the company would "try all possible methods" to secure crude, including oil from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Yanbu, and UAE oil exported to loading points outside Gulf.
Sinopec President Wan Tao stated that the refinery has enough crude oil to process for 20 days and sell refined fuel for 15 days.
Wan did not disclose details on the use of government-controlled oil stockpiles, apart from saying the company will follow the rules for tapping reserves.
Sinopec’s second-quarter refining throughput fell 17% compared to the first quarter, and domestic refined fuel sales dropped by 18%. This was revealed in a filing on Sunday. Calculations show that to maintain the same processing volume in the second half of this year, Sinopec's annual?crude? throughput must be 4.52 million barrels a day, a 10% drop from 2025.
Hou, the company's CEO, said that the company will spend more than 30 billion Yuan (about 20 percent of its annual capital expenditures) on new energy, new materials, and other new technologies between 2026 and 2030. This is to address the challenge of falling fuel demand, as well as petrochemical overcapacity.
China's oil consumption?may have peaked last year, and refined fuel use is expected to drop by 8% this after registering an identical year-on year decline in the first six months, exceeding a forecasted 4-5% decrease, officials from company said.
(source: Reuters)
