China’s Sept.oil imports and fuel exports up on the year,oil output keeps rising

摘要

Data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed that the country,which is the world’s top crude importer,took in 41.24MM mt(10.12MM b/d)of crude in Sept.,which was approximately 93K b/d lower than in Aug.but around 4.03K b/d higher on the year.From Jan.to Sept.,Chinese imports averaged 9.87MM b/d of crude,which is approximately 88K b/d(9.7%)higher than the same period in 2018 on the startup of multiple refineries and state-owned China National Petroleum Corp.’s expansion project,said consultancy SIA Energy’s Senior Director Seng Yick Tee.However,bearish supply conditions will likely cause imports to slow down in 4Q.Natural gas imports were at 8.21MM mt in Sept.,an approximately 590K mt(7.7%)increase on the year.China had imported 71.22MM mt of natural gas from Jan.to Sept.,which was around 6.48MM mt(10%)higher compared to the same time in 2018.The country is looking to store more gas in preparation for increased use in Nov.