Refinery start-ups and stabilizing refining margins drove China’s crude oil imports to a record high in October, Chinese customs data showed on Friday. The world’s top oil importer increased its crude intake in October by 11.5 percent compared to the same month last year, to an average of 10.72 million barrels per day (bpd), according to Reuters calculations based on China’s government data. The October imports easily beat the import figure from September, when China imported 10.04 million bpd. China’s total oil imports rose by 11 percent on the year in September. This was the first time since April that crude oil imports had topped 10 million bpd, before the record-breaking month of October. Despite fluctuating refining margins in recent months and a glut of refined oil products, demand for crude in China continues to grow, also thanks to Hengli Petrochemical, which had a new refinery start up earlier […]