China's total crude oil imports in 2013 grew 4.07% year-on-year (y-o-y) from 5.44mn barrels per day (b/d) to 5.67mn b/d on the back of growing domestic refinery demand. This is a trend that is set to continue in tandem, though growth is likely to slow alongside a cooling appetite for refining expansion in China. As with 2012, the 10 largest exporters of crude oil to China continue to constitute about 80% of total Chinese oil imports. However, China's largest partners – Saudi Arabia and Angola – failed to capture gains from the increase in crude imports in 2013. Iran – owing to sanctions – and Kuwait also did not benefit from Chinese crude demand growth. However, the other six of China's 10 largest crude suppliers were able to boost exports to the Asian giant.
展开▼
