China is raising by 42 percent the oil import quota for its non-state refiners—most of which are the independent refiners—for 2019 as new refinery capacity is planned to enter into operation next year. China is allocating a total of up to 202 million tons, or 4.06 million bpd, of import quota to non-state refineries for next year, S&P Global Platts reported on Monday, citing a weekend communication by the Chinese Commerce Ministry. Companies have until November 10 to apply, and those who haven’t imported crude oil in 2018 will not be allocated quotas for next year, the ministry noted. While state-held giants such as Sinopec, PetroChina, CNOOC, and Sinochem don’t need government approval of quota allocations, all others, including the independent refiners—the so-called teapots—need to apply and obtain the consent to import crude oil. Hengli Petrochemical and Zhejiang Petrochemical are expected to start up major oil refineries next year, […]