$SNP China's crude oil imports to top 400M tons this year, Sinopec exec says
China's crude oil imports will exceed 400M metric tons this year, according to a Sinopec (SNP -0.6%) VP, which likely would make China the world's largest crude oil importer on an annual basis for the first time.
For the first six months of 2017, China imported 212M metric tons of crude, or 8.55M bbl/day, up nearly 14% Y/Y, as continuing low prices and declining domestic production prompt increased overseas purchases.
The expectation of strong Chinese demand for imports holding through the rest of the year comes despite plans by state oil majors (PTR, CEO) to shut down 10% of the country's refining capacity in Q3 due to a glut of fuel products.
