China’s fuel exports soar as ‘teapot’ refiners make inroads with price cuts
BEIJING — China’s diesel, petrol and kerosene exports surged in July after state-owned refiners shipped excess fuel abroad as they struggled to compete in the domestic market with independent companies that sold at lower prices.Customs data showed on Monday that diesel exports rose 181.8% to a record 1.53-million tonnes, almost tripling China’s average monthly export volume in 2015.Petrol shipments were up 145% year on year at 970,000 tonnes, although they fell slightly from June’s record 1.1-million tonnes.Kerosene exports jumped 46% to 1.09-million tonnes, the customs data showed.The surge in fuel exports underscores the inability of China’s state-owned refiners to deal with a domestic oversupply of oil products as private refiners, known as teapots, have started undercutting the bigger companies in order to gain customers."Independent refiners grabbed a big chunk of Sinopec and PetroChina domestic market share especially with diesel, forcing them to export," Zhu Chunkai, a senior...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.