China may issue an additional 3 million to 4 million tonnes of permits for refined fuel exports for 2018 to prevent state-owned refiners from having to slash throughput rates, according to three sources briefed on the matter. The government has been looking to keep fuel export quotas at around 43 million tonnes this year, steady with 2017 levels, to maintain overall trade balances. But the state refiners have been using the quotas already granted for this year faster than expected, rushing to ship more gasoline, diesel and jet kerosene overseas in the first nine months compared to the same period of 2017 because domestic refinery production has expanded faster than demand. While exports may not be as lucrative as sales in […]