China’s crude oil imports surpassed 10 million barrels per day in 2019 (3/18/2020)

China’s annual crude oil imports in 2019 increased to an average of 10.1 million barrels per day (b/d), an increase of 0.9 million b/d from the 2018 average (Figure 1). China surpassed the United States as the world’s largest crude oil importer in 2017. New refinery capacity and strategic inventory stockpiling, combined with flat domestic oil production, were the major factors contributing to the increase in China’s crude oil imports in 2019. ... More »