• 3 minutes e-car sales collapse
  • 6 minutes America Is Exceptional in Its Political Divide
  • 11 minutes Perovskites, a ‘dirt cheap’ alternative to silicon, just got a lot more efficient
  • 59 mins GREEN NEW DEAL = BLIZZARD OF LIES
  • 1 hour Could Someone Give Me Insights on the Future of Renewable Energy?
  • 18 hours How Far Have We Really Gotten With Alternative Energy
  • 2 days "What’s In Store For Europe In 2023?" By the CIA (aka RFE/RL as a ruse to deceive readers)
  • 17 hours e-truck insanity
  • 4 days Bankruptcy in the Industry
  • 1 day Oil Stocks, Market Direction, Bitcoin, Minerals, Gold, Silver - Technical Trading <--- Chris Vermeulen & Gareth Soloway weigh in
  • 5 days The United States produced more crude oil than any nation, at any time.
Oil Moves Higher on Inventory Draw

Oil Moves Higher on Inventory Draw

Crude oil prices ticked higher…

Why Biden is Unlikely to Enforce the New Iran Oil Sanctions

Why Biden is Unlikely to Enforce the New Iran Oil Sanctions

Despite Congress passing new sanctions…

U.S. Oil and Gas Boom Poses Challenge to Climate Goals

U.S. Oil and Gas Boom Poses Challenge to Climate Goals

Despite renewable energy efforts, the…

Charles Kennedy

Charles Kennedy

Charles is a writer for Oilprice.com

More Info

Premium Content

China Sees Tanker Traffic Soar As Oil Storage Runs Out

  • China’s crude oil imports in May jumped to the highest in history ever, at 11.34 million bpd.
  • There is growing tanker congestion in the waters around Chinese oil ports as onshore storage capacity was too tight for all the arrivals according to Bloomberg.
China oil

There is growing tanker congestion in the waters around Chinese oil ports as buyers rushed to take advantage of low oil prices in the past couple of months, but onshore storage capacity was too tight for all the arrivals, Bloomberg reports.

Citing data from Kpler, Bloomberg said that this month alone, as many as 200 oil tankers were expected to arrive at Chinese ports.

China’s crude oil imports in May jumped to the highest in history ever, at 11.34 million bpd, customs data showed earlier this month. The data confirms that China’s economy is on the fast track to recovery from the coronavirus crisis, with the May daily average of oil imports up by 15 percent from April and 150,000 bpd more than the previous import record that Chinese buyers set last November.

This month could see another record intake of oil, with Kpler predicting a daily average of as much as 14 million bpd or more, which would be 20 percent more than the average for May.

Earlier this year, a think-tank affiliated with state oil major CNPC said they expected Chinese oil imports to register a 2-percent annual increase this year because of the low oil price environment.

There are, however, doubts about how long China could continue buying oil at these rates. For one thing, the actual rate of recovery in oil demand may not be accurately reported. For another, the lack of exact data about the country’s oil storage capabilities fuels uncertainty. The news about the tanker congestion, therefore, will reinforce these doubts as it suggests that storage capacity is filling up.

Estimates from IHS Markit show that China's crude oil inventories will have jumped by 440 million barrels in the first half this year—the largest six-month increase in inventories anywhere in the world, ever. If imports continue to rise at a record rate, floating storage may become the only option.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

ADVERTISEMENT

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:


Download The Free Oilprice App Today

Back to homepage





Leave a comment

Leave a comment




EXXON Mobil -0.35
Open57.81 Trading Vol.6.96M Previous Vol.241.7B
BUY 57.15
Sell 57.00
Oilprice - The No. 1 Source for Oil & Energy News