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China cuts refinery runs to 2020 pandemic lows as crude imports fall

Refinery throughput in June dropped 17.7% year over year to 12.47 million bpd, the lowest processing volume in six years, as crude imports slid to a decade low amid Strait of Hormuz disruptions and weak domestic demand.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Energy

Chinese refiners sharply reduced crude processing in June, pushing refinery runs to pandemic-era lows as crude imports collapsed and domestic fuel demand weakened, OilPrice reports. The National Bureau of Statistics data show China’s refinery throughput fell 17.7% from a year earlier to 12.47 million barrels per day in June.

That level was the lowest processing volume in six years, with June also bringing a refinery average run rate below 60%, the report said. For context, the average run rate in May was 66.3%, and total volumes processed in May declined 9.1% on the year to 53.72 million tons.

OilPrice adds that the pullback followed the lowest Chinese crude oil imports in a decade, as reduced flows through the Strait of Hormuz lifted oil prices and cut refiners’ appetite for costly crude. China’s crude oil imports plunged 41.3% in June versus a year earlier to 29.27 million tons, or 7.12 million bpd, according to customs data cited in the report.

The report also points to refiners increasing maintenance rates to curb losses from high input prices while domestic demand remained soft. In June, total volumes processed slipped further to 51.24 million tons, compared with the prior month’s lower year-over-year run rate.

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