China reduced oil imports in 2022, but the situation may change in 2023

After the removal of coronavirus restrictions in China, oil imports in 2023.it may increase by 1.1 million barrels per day.

In 2022, China reduced oil imports by 0.9% compared to 2021, to 508.28 million tons, which corresponds to 10.17 million barrels per day. This is evidenced by the data of the Main Customs Administration PRC, published on January 13, 2022

The decline in oil imports by China is recorded for the 2nd year in a row. In 2021, oil imports fell for the first time in 2 decades after a record of 10.8 million barrels per day was set in 2020. For most of 2022, due to coronavirus restrictions and weak demand for fuel, oil imports were at low levels.

The situation began to change in October 2022, when the volume of purchases began to grow amid the desire of the Chinese authorities to support the oil industry by stimulating fuel exports. In December 2022, oil consumption by refineries increased by 4% compared to the same month in 2021 and reached 48.07 million tons (11.3 million barrels per day). State-owned refineries in December 2022 increased purchases of oil from Saudi Arabia due to lower prices, and independent refineries sought to select available export quotas by the end of 2022.