Chinese refineries processed a daily average of around 12.37 million barrels in May, or 371.34 million barrels (50.66 million tons). This is an 8.2-percent annual increase, according to the country’s National Statistics Bureau, as quoted by Reuters. Over the first five months of 2018, refinery throughput stood at an average 12.2 million bpd, or a total 1.83 billion barrels for the five-month period. So far this year, China—along with India—has since the start of the year accounted for 69 percent of the forecast growth in crude oil demand, Reuters’ Clyde Russell noted in a recent column. Independent refiners, commonly called teapots, were instrumental for this increase as they received higher import quotas from Beijing. But with rising oil prices this year, teapots found their margins squeezed lower and additionally pressured by the tax reform and a stricter enforcement of crude oil taxes across the country. This, Reuters reported in […]