China’s crude oil production dropped by 8 percent annually to 31.44 million tons in January and February, as high domestic production costs prompted refineries to import more crude oil, according to data by the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). In the first two months of this year, the total crude processing volume stood at 90.76 million tons, up by 4.3 percent compared to the same period last year. Crude oil imports, on the other hand, rose by 12.5 percent to 65.8 million tons, Xinhua news agency reports, quoting NBS figures. Despite the higher global oil prices at around $50 this year, compared to last year’s lows, Chinese refineries still preferred to import crude rather than buy domestically produced oil due to the high production costs, NBS noted, as reported by Xinhua. China’s domestic crude oil output faltered in 2016, after the oil price slump pushed many of its […]