China's May refinery throughput at 9-month low on plant overhauls
- China May crude oil throughput down 1.8% year-on-year
- Refineries operated at lowest capacity since Q4 of 2022
- May natural gas production rose 9.1% year-on-year
China's crude oil throughput declined by 1.8% in May from a year earlier to the lowest level since August, official data showed on Monday, as maintenance at both state-owned and independent refineries curbed operations.
The world's second-largest oil consumer processed 59.11 MM tonnes (t) of crude in May, or about 13.92 MMbpd, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
The daily processing rate in May dropped from April's 14.12 MMbpd.
Chinese consultancies reported that domestic refinery utilization rates continued to fall. They reached the lowest level in May since the fourth quarter of 2022, according to Chinese consultancy Sublime China Information.
The average operating rate of primary refining units dropped to 72.87% in May. A total of 11 refineries were either fully shut or undergoing partial maintenance, cutting gasoline and diesel output by 1.421 MMt per month, the consultancy said.
However, independent refiners in Shandong saw a modest recovery in profit. The theoretical average margin for Shandong teapots was 293 yuan ($40.8) per metric ton in May, up 23 yuan from April, as the decline in revenue was less than the reduction in raw material costs, the consultancy added.
As several state-run refineries are expected to complete turnarounds in late May and early June, throughput may well rebound in June, said analytics firm Vortexa.
NBS data also showed that China's domestic crude oil production in May rose 1.8% from a year earlier to 18.47 MMt, or 4.35 MMbpd.
Year-to-date crude output rose 1.3% to 90.28 MMtons, or 4.36 MMbpd.
Natural gas production increased 9.1% year-on-year to 22.1 Bm3 last month, with output in the first five months rising 6%, the data showed.
(metric ton = 7.3 barrels for crude oil)
Comments