China’s Ministry of Commerce has allocated a new 5 million ton oil product export quota, bringing the total refined fuel export quota so far this year to 22.5 million tons, down 40.2 percent year-on-year, Jiemian News reported, citing domestic energy product information provider JLC.
The report said that the new quota has been granted to seven companies including China National Petroleum Corp, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) and private enterprise Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical Co.
The decline in China’s oil product export is mainly due to constrained global demand amid high international crude oil price and the fallout of prolonged pandemic on economic recovery, Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Thursday.
In addition, China has vowed to reach peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, to achieve which, domestic refiners should follow relevant policies to make transformation, according to Lin.
According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China exported a total of 18.45 million tons of refined oil products in the first five months of the year, down 38.5 percent on a yearly basis. However, export value increased 2.3 percent year-on-year.
Lin said that China’s export of refined fuel products has had only a slight impact on the global economy given its small amount.
After hitting a 10-week high at more than $125 per barrel in mid-June, Brent crude futures have ceded ground in volatile trading as concerns over a global economic slowdown trumped the impact of Western sanctions on Russian oil supplies, S&P Global reported.
As of 10 am Thursday, Brent crude futures slid 1.9 percent to $98.95 per barrel, their closest to $100 per barrel since April 26. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 1.74 percent to $96.82 per barrel.
Lin forecast that international oil price may hover at around $100 per barrel with improved expectations for global economy. “The international oil price may drop to around $70-80 per barrel if the Russia-Ukraine crisis is resolved,” he said.
An oil tanker is being unloaded at a terminal in Yantai, East China’s Shandong Province on May 23, 2022. China imported 171 million tons of crude oil in the first four months of the year, down 4.8 percent, latest official data showed. Photo: VCG
