China Keeps May Fuel Exports at 417,000 Bpd as Eased Curbs Leave Volumes Near Half
Updated
Updated · OilPrice.com · May 14
China Keeps May Fuel Exports at 417,000 Bpd as Eased Curbs Leave Volumes Near Half
1 articles · Updated · OilPrice.com · May 14
417,000 barrels per day of Chinese gasoline, diesel and jet fuel have shipped so far in May, far below the roughly 750,000 bpd exported in January and February before the Iran war.
Lower volumes persist even after Beijing eased export restrictions last month, because state energy companies are still being allowed to sell much less abroad than they did before the conflict.
China had imposed a near-total fuel export ban days after the Middle East war shut the Strait of Hormuz, telling companies to halt new contracts and try to cancel existing shipments.
That limited rebound may do little to ease Asia's fuel crunch, although China has weathered the shock better than many regional peers thanks to large crude stockpiles and weaker domestic fuel demand.
Is China’s fuel export cut a strategic play for dominance or a desperate act of self-preservation amid a global oil war?
With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, could this energy crisis be the shock that permanently breaks the world's addiction to oil?
As US and Iranian forces clash, what realistic endgame could reopen the world's most critical oil chokepoint and avert global recession?