China's H1 refinery output in first annual decline since at least 2011

SINGAPORE :China's refinery throughput in June shrank nearly 10 per cent from a year earlier, with output for the first half of the year down 6 per cent in the first annual decline for the period since at least 2011, data showed on Friday.

Crude throughput last month was 54.94 million tonnes, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), equivalent to 13.37 million barrels per day (bpd).

That was up 5 per cent from 12.7 million bpd in May, but down from 14.8 million bpd in June 2021, an all-time high.

Data showed January-June processing volumes fell 6 per cent to 332.22 million tonnes, or 13.4 million bpd - the first annual decline for the period since at least 2011 as Beijing's zero-COVID measures crimped demand and a policy to slash fuel exports discouraged refinery operations.

The June rebound versus the preceding month came as some independent refiners began raising production late in May, after steep cuts between February and April, in response to a moderate pick up in demand as some COVID-19 curbs were eased.

The return of Sinopec Corp's Yangzi and Hainan refineries from overhauls also contributed to the higher processing, though the state major had to close a 320,000 bpd plant in Shanghai due to a fire on June 18.

China's demand for refined oil products has been falling since March amid strict lockdowns to contain the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, with gasoline and aviation fuel the worst hit.

(tonne = 7.3 barrels for crude oil)