China may grant more crude import quotas to small refineries

China’s smaller, independent oil refineries known as teapots may be granted more import licenses this year, a government research official said, Bloomberg reported on March 27.

The plants may be allowed to import as much as an additional 20 million metric tons a year of crude, or about 400,000 barrels a day, under the new quotas, Jiang Xinmin, a deputy director at the Energy Research Institute of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, the top economic planner, said today in Shanghai.

“China will further open up its energy import and export market in an orderly manner,” Jiang said. “Teapot refineries that meet the government’s requirement for operation size and environment regulation may get crude import quota.”

New quotas may be granted to teapots owned by ChemChina as well as other plants, Jiang said, without elaborating. The plants also use fuel oil to make gasoline and diesel because of their limited access to crude.

Copyright: Bloomberg, 2014