China has started using its commercial oil reserves to partially offset reduced supply caused by the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, according to a report by Bloomberg.<\/p>\n
Analysts from Vortexa Ltd., Kpler, and Energy Aspects estimate that China will draw down its inventories by an average of around 1 million barrels per day in the coming months. This represents roughly one-third of the oil imports the country lost after the conflict led to the near-complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz. However, the volume remains modest compared with the approximately 1.2 billion barrels held in China\u2019s commercial and strategic storage facilities.<\/p>\n
Over the past year, China has built its oil stockpiles to record levels. The country began tapping these reserves in May and had drawn down nearly 25 million barrels by June 7, according to Energy Aspects, citing data from its satellite-tracking unit Kayrros.<\/p>\n
Bloomberg notes that while the inventory drawdown is significant, weaker refining demand has played an even larger role. State-owned refineries have cut processing rates to record lows, fuel exports have been restricted under wartime measures, and the transition to electric vehicles has accelerated.<\/p>\n
\u201cChina\u2019s transportation system has become structurally more resilient than during previous oil shocks,\u201d said Emma Li, Lead China Market Analyst at Vortexa.<\/p>\n
According to Li, the rapid adoption of electric vehicles has reduced fuel demand by approximately 1 million barrels per day this quarter.<\/p>\n
Kpler data indicate that Beijing continued to replenish its strategic petroleum reserves during the conflict, while refiners increasingly relied on commercial inventories rather than new imports. The exact amount of oil released from state reserves remains unclear.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot completely rule out some use of the strategic reserve,\u201d said Sumit Ritolia, Lead Analyst at Kpler.<\/p>\n
Chinese state-owned refineries are expected to resume purchases on international markets once reserve drawdowns become substantial, according to Jianan Sun, a London-based analyst at Energy Aspects.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, before large-scale buying returns, government approval will be required, and that will depend on Beijing\u2019s assessment of the situation in the Strait of Hormuz,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":151741,"menu_order":0,"template":"","newscat":[9],"newstag":[],"issues":[],"class_list":["post-151740","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","newscat-novosti"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/151740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"newscat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newscat?post=151740"},{"taxonomy":"newstag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newstag?post=151740"},{"taxonomy":"issues","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issues?post=151740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}