Slumping refining margins amid tepid fuel demand in China have already claimed victims among the refineries in the Shandong province, where two plants operated by chemicals giant Sinochem were declared bankrupt in recent days. Zhenghe Group Co and Shandong Huaxing Petrochemical Group Co were declared bankrupt after creditors failed to …
Read More »Aramco’s New Deals with China Signal a Further Deepening of Sino-Saudi Relations
A little under a year before the Russian invasion of February 2022, Saudi Aramco’s chief executive officer, Amin Nasser, had spent several days at the annual China Development Forum hosted in Beijing, during which time he stated: “Ensuring the continuing security of China’s energy needs remains our highest priority – …
Read More »Saudi Arabia Set to Boost Crude Oil Supply to China in October
Saudi Arabia is expected to increase its crude oil supply to China in October after the world’s top crude exporter cut the prices of the oil it sells in Asia, trade sources told Reuters on Thursday. The Kingdom is set to ship a total of 46 million barrels of its …
Read More »China Urges EV Makers to Keep Key Tech at Home
Chinese authorities have asked local carmaking companies to make sure key electric vehicle technology stays home even as they expand their manufacturing capacity across the world. The government is recommending carmakers to produce the key parts of the cars domestically and then export the so-called knock-down kits to the factories …
Read More »Oil Down amid Weak Economic Data from US and China
Oil prices declined on Tuesday following weak economic data from China and the US, while growing expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will lower interest rates and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East limited further price falls. International benchmark Brent crude decreased by 0.2% to $71.69 per barrel at …
Read More »China’s LNG Imports to Fall as Natural Gas Storage Nears Capacity
China’s natural gas in storage is nearing capacity, which could spell a decline in imports of liquefied natural gas, Bloomberg has reported, citing data releases from several regional gas storage hubs. If this year’s winter is cold, imports of LNG should remain strong because the gas in storage would be …
Read More »China’s Energy Transition is Slowing its Oil Demand Growth
China’s oil demand growth has been slowing down due to weaker economic performance and a shift to electric vehicles and LNG-fueled trucks, oil industry executives said at the APPEC conference in Singapore on Monday. Right now, Chinese oil demand growth has slowed to about 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) each …
Read More »Germany Says China’s Emission Reductions are Crucial for Global Goals
The pace at which China will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions will be critical to reaching the global targets to fight climate change, Germany’s climate envoy has said. “What China decides to do in its NDC is probably the most important thing to keeping that 1.5-degree target in sight,” Jennifer …
Read More »China’s Oil Giant CNOOC Books Record-High Profit as Output Jumps
China’s state-held oil and gas giant CNOOC reported on Wednesday a record-high net profit for the first half of 2024, pushed up by an all-time high oil and gas production and rising oil prices. CNOOC, which specializes in offshore oil and gas developments in China and internationally, booked a net …
Read More »Is China’s Demand for Oil Nearing Its Peak?
Uncertainty about Chinese oil demand has become the single most important bearish factor for oil. Every time analysts cite lower prices it is because of uncertainty about Chinese demand—or the potential certainty that this demand is not going higher. As the world’s largest importer of oil, the Asian powerhouse has …
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