London: Chinese crude imports are set to grow by some 0.4m barrels per day this year, London broker Gibson reckons in a recent report. PetroChina's new 200,000 barrels a day refinery in Sichuan is expected to come onstream next month, while Sinochem's Quanzhou 200,000 barrels a day facility will start operating later this year. "It is also expected that refineries across China will raise crude runs by about 4% in 2013, supporting a credible theory for substantial new demand," Gibson noted. Increasing demand will be met largely by imports, the brokers said, as domestic oil output is expected to grow by only 50,000 barrels a day. [18/02/13]
