China's October crude oil imports rise 8.2% year-on-year, refinery utilization rates highest of year
China's crude oil imports rose 8.2% in October from a year earlier, as refineries operated at their highest utilizsaztion rates this year.
The world's largest crude importer brought in 48.36 MM tonnes (t) of oil in October, up 2.3%—equivalent to 11.4 MMbpd—from September, according to data from the General Administration of Customs on Friday.
China's seaborne crude imports rose to 10.4 MMbpd in October, up 6% from September and 9% year-on-year, as refiners ramped up throughput on improving margins, according to tanker-tracking firm Vortexa Analytics.
"In particular, state-run refiners have increased runs in the second half of the year to capture domestic market share from private refiners and maximize fuel export quota utilization amid improving margins, leading to a visible slowdown in onshore crude stockpiles," said Emma Li, a China analyst with Vortexa.
Kpler's data showed a notable rise in China's crude oil imports from West Africa and Brazil, driven by favorable arbitrage economics. Russian oil arrivals increased month-on-month in October due to higher Urals volumes of 283,000 bpd, their highest level since June 2023.
"Arrivals from Saudi Arabia and Iraq declined as Sinopec's domestic refineries underwent maintenance in October, leading to reduced deliveries under long-term contracts for September-loading cargoes," said Muyu Xu, senior analyst at Kpler.
For the first 10 months of the year, total crude imports rose 3.1% to 471 MMt.
Imports of natural gas, including both pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), fell 7.2% in October from a year earlier to 9.78 MMt. Total imports during the first 10 months stood at 102.6 MMt, down 6.2% from the same period last year.
(1 metric ton of crude oil=7.3 bbl)
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