Analysts expect crude imports to slow in Q2 March fuel exports at 6.83 mln T vs 5.3 mln T in Feb (add analysts comment)
BEIJING, April 13 (Reuters) - China’s crude oil imports jumped 21% in March from a low base of comparison a year earlier as refiners ramped up operation amid robust fuel demand post-COVID-19, though purchases slowed ahead of the maintenance season.
The world’s top crude oil buyer imported 49.66 million tonnes last month, equivalent to 11.69 million barrels per day (bpd), data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday.
March imports were down from 11.73 million bpd in February.
For the first quarter, arrivals totalled 139.23 million tonnes, or 11.29 million bpd. That compared to 10.2 million bpd over the same period a year earlier.
China's crude oil imports jumped 21% in March from a low base of comparison a year earlier as refiners ramped up operation amid robust fuel demand post-COVID-19, though purchases slowed ahead of the maintenance season.
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SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia will meet most Asian customers’ requirements for May-loading crude after some buyers had asked for lower volumes partly because of refinery maintenance and higher prices, several trade sources said on Monday.
FILE PHOTO: General view of Aramco tanks and oil pipe at Saudi Aramco s Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia May 21, 2018. Picture taken May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah
The demand for lower volumes comes just as the kingdom is set to phase out additional voluntary production cuts over the next few months under plans agreed by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies including Russia to ease supply cuts.
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SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI, April 5 (Reuters) - State-run refiner Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has made its first purchase of Norway’s Johan Sverdrup crude, buying four million barrels via a tender as it speeds up diversification of crude imports, two trade sources told Reuters on Monday.
IOC will take delivery of two million barrels of the North Sea crude in each of May and June, one of the sources said. Further details on the trades were not yet clear.
The move follows the Indian government’s call to cut dependence on crude from the Middle East in an escalating stand-off between India, the world’s third-largest crude importer, and Saudi Arabia, the de-facto leader of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
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LONDON (Reuters) - An extended surge in oil prices is unlikely as the world rebounds from the pandemic given ample supply but changes are seen in demand and gasoline may have peaked, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday.
FILE PHOTO: Crude oil is dispensed into a bottle in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration
“Oil’s sharp rally to near $70 a barrel has spurred talk of a new supercycle and a looming supply shortfall. Our data and analysis suggest otherwise,” the IEA said in its monthly report.
“For a start, oil inventories still look ample compared with historical levels despite a steady decline . On top of the stock cushion, a hefty amount of spare production capacity has built up as a result of OPEC+ supply curbs,” it said.