China's safety crackdown hits oil sector

摘要

Singapore -China's nationwide campaign on safety and environmental protection has had a far-reaching impact on the refining industry, with several small refiners either suspending opera- tions or extending their maintenance shutdowns to meet the government's stringent new norms. The result has been lower crude throughput at refineries and less production from blenders, which has tightened domestic oil product supply and raised prices. Moreover, the campaign, which covers other industries as well, is expected to reduce demand for products such as gasoil.