(Corrections to include a million words in the second paragraph)
BEIJING / SINGAPORE, January 14 (Reuters) – China’s total crude oil imports rose 7.3% in 2020 despite the coronavirus panic early in the year, with numbers reaching second and third quarters among prices oil falls and refineries expand, data showed Thursday. .
For 2020, the world’s major oil buyer imported 542.37 million tons of crude oil, or 10.85 million barrels per day (bpd).
December shipments were 38.47 million tons, equivalent to 9.06 million bpd, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Thursday.
That was down about 15% from 10.71 million bpd in December last year and off 11.04 million bpd in November.
The strong currents came after a feverish purchase as crude prices fell to their lowest level in decades and strong domestic demand as the economy recovered quickly from the coronavirus pandemic.
The expansion of state-owned refineries and the launch of new facilities by Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp. privately boosted China’s demand for fossil fuels.
Beijing has lifted the first batch of crude oil import quotas for non-state companies by 18% to 122.59 million tons in 2021 from the first round in 2020, reflecting the greater potential.
Customs data also showed that natural gas imports, including fuels delivered as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and through pipelines, exceeded 11.23 million tonnes in December.
Full-year imports rose 5.3% to 101.66 million tonnes, as a harsh winter and a dramatic manufacturing recovery lifted energy demand despite multi-year high gas prices.
Earlier ship scrap data showed China’s LNG imports in December rose to a record of more than 9 million tons, overtaking Japan for the second month in a row as No.1 buyer the world. (tons = 7.3 barrels for crude oil conversion)
Reporting with Muyu Xu in Beijing and Chen Aizhu in Singapore; Edited by Kim Coghill