Tuesday 14/April/2026 – 09:03 AM
Official data issued today, Tuesday, showed that China’s imports of crude oil in March decreased by 2.8% from the same period last year, while the conflict with Iran led to a decline in operating rates in refineries, with expectations that supply disruptions from the Middle East would negatively affect April imports.
The General Administration of Customs said that imports in March amounted to 49.98 million tons, or about 11.77 million barrels per day, as China’s imports of seaborne crude oil stabilized in March at 10.5 million barrels per day on an annual basis, while inventories rose by 34 million barrels.
Shipments coming from the Middle East
Emma Lee, an analyst at Vortexa, a ship tracking company, said that cargoes coming from the Middle East were loaded in January and February, so March imports had not yet been affected by the Strait of Hormuz disruptions.
The Chinese consulting firm Oil Chem said that the utilization rate of the production capacity of refineries in China reached 68.79% in March, a decrease of 0.9 percentage points on an annual basis, and 4.47 percentage points compared to February, and added that the major state and independent refiners reduced their operating rates during the month due to factors including the risks of crude oil supplies.
Adequate supply of petroleum products
Rystad Energy Vice President Yi Lin said that China is likely to face a shortage in crude oil supplies in April, as imports are expected to be about two million barrels per day less than average import demand. She added that if refiners want to maintain sufficient supplies of petroleum products, China will likely need to draw from inventories, even as refinery operating rates are expected to decline by about one million barrels per day in April amid weak profit margins.
Customs data also showed that exports of refined petroleum products, including diesel, gasoline, aviation fuel and marine fuel, fell 12.2% to 4.6 million tons in March.
China last month ordered a ban on refined fuel exports, halting shipments that had not been cleared by customs by March 11.
Aviation fuel intended for refueling
The export ban, which does not include aviation fuel intended for refueling, is likely to extend into April, although exceptions may be applied to small quantities destined for countries in the region that have requested assistance. In contrast, natural gas imports in March, including pipelined gas and liquefied natural gas, fell 10.7% from the previous year to 8.18 million tons, the lowest level since October 2022.
Kpler data showed that China’s imports in March amounted to 3.68 million tons, the lowest monthly level since April 2018.
