China's oil refinery throughput this year is forecast to rise 7.8%, according to a think tank of state energy group CNPC, reversing last year's decline as the world's second-largest oil consumer and is set for a recovery in fuel demand.
Refinery throughput is estimated to reach 733 million tonnes, or 14.66 million barrels per day (MMbbl/d), for 2023, China National Petroleum Corporation's (CNPC) Economics and Technology Research Institute (ETRI) said in its annual industry outlook released on March 27.
With Beijing determined to revive its sagging economy after lifting COVID-19 controls last December, Chinese refined fuel consumption is expected to rebound with top refiner Sinopec earlier on March 27 separately predicting a 3.3% increase in its annual throughput this year.
"(We are) expecting refined fuel consumption to rebound progressively in 2023...with gasoline set for strong recovery, diesel fuel to hold steady and improving further while jet kerosene is bottoming out," ETRI said.
That will likely lead to 6.2% growth in this year's crude oil imports to 540 million tonnes, or 10.8 MMbbl/d, the research unit said.
The growth is in line with forecasts by independent analysts predicting China's oil imports will rise to new highs this year as a result of the COVID policy change and new refineries coming on stream.
The CNPC think tank also predicted that the country's refineries will operate at an average of 79.4% of their capacity in 2023, up from 73.6% last year. China has become the world's largest refiner following a recent petrochemicals-led expansion.
Natural gas consumption is seen rising 5.2% this year to 386.5 billion cubic meters (Bcm), the outlook said. China's state economic planner reported that gas consumption fell by 1.7% last year in its first decline in two decades as pandemic measures and high global prices suppressed economic activities.
The CNPC think tank predicted that China's gasoline output will increase by 7.6% this year to 156.4 million tonnes, diesel output will rise by 6.1% to 202.9 million tonnes and jet fuel production will surge by 18.4% to 34.9 million tonnes.
Recommended Reading
Comstock Doubling Rigs as Western Haynesville Mega-Wells’ Cost Falls to $27MM
2025-02-19 - Operator Comstock Resources is ramping to four rigs in its half-million-net-acre, deep-gas play north of Houston where its wells IP as much as 40 MMcf/d. The oldest one has produced 18.4 Bcf in its first 33 months.
Matador Touts Cotton Valley ‘Gas Bank’ Reserves as Prices Increase
2025-02-21 - Matador Resources focuses most of its efforts on the Permian’s Delaware Basin today. But the company still has vast untapped natural gas resources in Louisiana’s prolific Cotton Valley play, where it could look to drill as commodity prices increase.
Antero Stock Up 90% YoY as NatGas, NGL Markets Improve
2025-02-14 - As the outlook for U.S. natural gas improves, investors are hot on gas-weighted stocks—in particular, Appalachia’s Antero Resources.
PHX Minerals Explores Sale After Rejecting Acquisition Bids
2024-12-13 - PHX Minerals hired bankers to explore a potential merger or sale of the firm, which manages assets across the Midcontinent and Haynesville Shale play. PHX has rejected multiple unsolicited acquisition bids in the past two years.
BP’s Eagle Ford Refracs Delivering EUR Uplift, ‘Triple-Digit’ Returns
2025-02-14 - BP’s shale segment, BPX Energy, is seeing EUR uplifts from Eagle Ford refracs “we didn’t really predict in shale,” CEO Murray Auchincloss told investors in fourth-quarter earnings.
Comments
Add new comment
This conversation is moderated according to Hart Energy community rules. Please read the rules before joining the discussion. If you’re experiencing any technical problems, please contact our customer care team.