bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

China’s loadings of West African crude oil were set to bounce back in November from a multi-year low hit the previous month, a Reuters survey of oil traders and shipping fixtures showed, due to more
importing companies there and higher refinery margins.
The boost helped press overall exports to Asia to 1.74 million bpd, a three-month high. But they remained anaemic compared with earlier in the year. In April, a spike in buying in India pressed West African bookings to Asia to 2.4 million bpd.
China, a major buyer of West African crude oil, went cold as a buyer in October amid plummeting Asian refining margins and a build up in stored oil.
Buyers in Europe and the US stepped in, with the latter taking more than two dozen West African cargoes for October loading.
But a bounce back in Asian refinery margins, as well as a new slate of domestic Chinese refineries allowed to import oil, helped to boost demand for November-loading oil.
“The US and Europe carried the candle in October,” one trader said of West Africa loadings. “But now China is back and showing interest.”
Traders said there would be more Chinese storage space free by the time the cargoes booked now would arrive, in contrast to the 4 million barrels that were stranded off an eastern port earlier this month.
Additionally, China also more than doubled, to 87.6 million tonnes, the 2016 crude oil import quota for non-state companies.
Despite this, the 918,000 barrels per day (bpd) booked to load in West Africa in November for the world’s largest energy consumer was still relatively subdued compared with earlier in the year, and stood below the 2015 running average of 965,000 bpd.
The slip in November bookings to India added to a backlog of nearly 15 million barrels of unsold Nigerian oil.
Angolan oil, which is favoured by buyers in China, has fared somewhat better, but prices for some grades, such as Pazflor, are still under serious pressure.


Putin’s visit to India reveals the anxieties of a changing world order

How China is cementing its central role as the architect of green tech

Trump says US seized oil tanker off Venezuela coast in major escalation

Chinese scientists report way to extract hypersonic weapon fuel boron from seawater

Energy

China gets back to buying West African crude in November 

A worker walks down the stairs of an oil tank at a refinery in Wuhan, Hubei province, in this March 23, 2012 file photo. As China closes in on the U.S. as the world's biggest crude oil importer, demand from private refiners and stockpiling of cheap oil is expected to keep imports at record levels after a wobble in the third quarter of 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/Files

A worker walks past oil pipes at a refinery in Wuhan, Hubei province as China loadings of West African crude are seen bouncing back in November. Photo: Reuters

Business

China Business

Commodities

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}New | China gets back to buying West African crude in November

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}

New | China gets back to buying West African crude in November