China still thirsty
Forget the rumours, Chinese imports of oil – for refining and strategic storage – are rising again
China's teapot refineries are unexpectedly playing a bigger role in crude imports as the country continues to top up its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) faster than expected. Combining the unexpected burst of activity by these independents with large-scale buying by the state-owned oil giants, analysts expect China to remain an important net importer of crude throughout 2017, despite the firming of oil prices since the Opec deal. Armed with new import licences issued by the National Energy Administration (NEA), in the first six months of 2016 the teapots on average imported a combined 3.23m tonnes of crude a month (about 0.78m barrels a day), roughly double the volumes of 2015. The refiner
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
