China's stockpiling keeping crude above US$100

China is hoarding crude at the fastest pace in at least a decade, shielding itself from supply disruptions and helping keep prices above US$100 a barrel.

The country imported a record volume in April as it emulates steps taken by the United States in the 1970s to create a strategic petroleum reserve, government data shows.

President Xi Jinping is building stockpiles as China clashes with Vietnam over resources in the South China Sea and faces potential risks to oil sales from Russia, Africa and the Middle East because of sanctions and violence.

The purchases are helping to drive oil prices higher, according to analysts at Barclays, Citigroup and Nomura.

As China's thirst for crude grows with the expansion of its emergency stockpiles and refining, the International Energy Agency estimates that it will surpass the US as the world's largest oil consumer by 2030.

"This panicked stockpiling is one of the ways that geopolitical tensions can actually tighten physical oil markets," Seth Kleinman, a London-based analyst at Citigroup, said.

"This buying spree is partly driven by the infrastructure needs of China's ongoing refinery expansion but also reflects the rise in geopolitical tensions."