China independent refiners slash crude runs as high oil prices squeeze margins
China’s independent refiners are poised to slash their run rates as rising outright oil prices continue to threaten the fuel producers’ domestic refining and sales margins, setting the stage for a sharp decline in the sector’s crude imports in September, market and industry sources said.
Crude throughputs at China’s independent refineries in eastern Shandong province in June had recovered by 8.2% month on month from a 14-month low in May. In June, the independent refineries cracked 2.57 million b/d, or 10.52 million mt, of feedstocks as 13.8 million mt/year refining capacity resumed operation from maintenance in late May and early June, according to data from JLC, a local energy information provider.