Page 9 - AsianOil Week 33 2022

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China’s refinery throughput declines in July,

Korean refiners register record profits

PERFORMANCE CHINA’S National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) July crude imports were down by 9.5% from
reported a decline in the country’s refinery July 2021. Domestic oil output was reported at
COVID-19 lockdowns throughput during the month of July as eco- 4.03mn bpd, providing a total of 12.82mn bpd
were responsible for nomic data for China in general showed an over- for the refineries. However, China is reported to
the decline in Chinese all downturn attributed to the zero-Covid policy have added some 290,000 bpd to its stockpiles,
throughput. that has hit other sectors. compared with a stock draw of 470,000 bpd in
The NBS data showed that crude through- June. The country’s total inventory additions for
put during July declined by 8% year on year to the first seven months of 2022 are estimated at
53.21mn tonnes, or 12.53mn barrels per day, 1.02mn bpd.
down from 13.37mn bpd in June. July’s through- Separately, South Korea’s Yonhap news
put was the lowest daily production rate since agency reported that the country’s four main
March 2020. Coronavirus (COVID-19) lock- refineries posted a record combined operat-
downs and restrictions on exports are seen as ing profit during the first six months of 2022 of
having curtailed refinery output. Furthermore, KRW12.32 trillion ($9.43bn). This is more than
major refineries such as Sinopec’s 320,000 bpd three times the four companies’ combined profit
capacity Shanghai refinery and PetroChina’s of KRW3.899 trillion for the same period last
200,000 bpd Wepec facility in Liaoning expe- year.
rienced shutdowns that affected production Yonhap cited high oil prices for increases
figures. in refining margins as being the main reason
Data for the first seven months of 2022 behind the jump in profits.
show that refineries processed 6.3% less SK Innovation Company, GS Caltex Corpo-
crude during the period compared to the ration, S-Oil Corporation and Hyundai Oilbank
same period in 2021, with 380.27mn tonnes, are expected to see a record-high annual operat-
or about 13.09 bpd, being processed from ing profit for the year, considering the fact that
January to July. this year’s first half-year profit exceeds the 2016
China’s crude imports averaged 8.79mn bpd record annual profit of KRW7.873 trillion, the
during July against 8.72mn bpd in June, but report said. ™

Week 33 22•August•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9