China's Oil Data: Closely Watched But Fundamentally Flawed

摘要

China's oil statistics are among the most closely watched in the industry because of the country's importance in driving global oil demand and potentially narrowing the crude supply surplus (IOD Oct.14'16). But the data is fundamentally flawed -- inaccurate, unreliable and full of gaping holes that sometimes can't be explained. The problems extend from upstream to downstream, with even China's Big Three state-run majors -- China National Petroleum Corp., Sinopec and CNOOC -- reporting inaccurate information to the government, Chinese industry sources say (IOD Sep.14'16).