China stepped up purchases of Saudi oil in the first four months of this year as a private refiner is raising crude intake from the Kingdom that has secured term deals to grab more market share in the world’s top oil importing market. Hengli Petrochemical, a privately held refiner, has stepped up purchases of Saudi crude oil for April and May and is close to ramping up its new 400,000-bpd refinery to full capacity later this month, Reuters reported on Monday, citing ship-tracking data and officials at Hengli Petrochemical. The new Chinese refinery, which started trial runs at the end of last year, is set to import between 194,000 bpd and 258,000 bpd of Saudi Arabian crude oil this month, after having bought 258,000 bpd in April, according to one of Reuters’ sources. Several Hengli Petrochemical executives and sources told Reuters that the refinery is expected to reach full […]