BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s oil refinery throughput in April rose 18.9% from a year earlier to the second-highest level on record, data showed on Tuesday, as refiners maintained high runs to meet recovering domestic fuel demand and build stockpiles ahead of the summer travel season.
Total refinery throughput in the world’s second-largest oil consumer reached 61.1 million tonnes, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed, equivalent to 14.87 million barrels per day (bpd).
That compares with 12.6 million bpd in April last year, when throughput slumped due to the impact of widespread COVID-19 lockdowns on domestic fuel demand.
April runs were slightly less than March levels, which broke all-time records as refiners stepped up output to capture strong export demand and build inventories ahead of shutdowns for maintenance. Refinery throughput was equivalent to 14.9 million bpd last month.
Refinery runs have remained high as domestic fuel demand continues to recover following the lifting of COVID restrictions late last year.
The May Day holiday, which ran from April 29 through May 3, also provided a significant boost to domestic demand for both gasoline and jet fuel, as domestic travel spiked with pent-up household demand.
Increased runs at other refineries made up for the shutdown of some plants for maintenance in April, said Xu Peng, a refined products analyst at China-based consultancy JLC ahead of the data.
State-owned PetroChina began a 55-day maintenance operation at its 100,000 bpd Changqing refinery on April 1.
Sinopec’s Zhenhai and Jinling refineries were also partially closed for maintenance through the month.
NBS data also showed China’s crude oil production in April period was 17.3 million tonnes, about 4.2 million bpd, versus 17 million tonnes in 2022.
Natural gas production rose 7% to 18.9 billion cubic metres (bcm) from last year’s 17.7 bcm.
(Reporting by Andrew Hayley; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Christian Schmollinger and Sonali Paul)
