China’s gasoline exports rebound in December

China's gasoline exports rose from a month earlier to almost 400,000 b/d in December, supported by higher shipments from private-sector refiner ZPC.

China exported 395,000 b/d last month, up by 11.4pc from November, customs data show. The rise was driven by ZPC, which ramped up shipments after receiving a 1mn t export quota under general trade terms in late November for its 800,000 b/d refinery. This made it China's first private-sector refiner to receive any export quota for gasoline, diesel or jet fuel since 2016.

ZPC's quota expired at the end of last year, just over a month after it was awarded, but the company still managed to export 850,000t during the period — all of which was gasoline, equivalent to around 232,000 b/d.

China's total gasoline exports hit 370,000 b/d in 2020, lower by 2.5pc from a year earlier, the customs data show. Exports fell as low as 185,000 b/d in June, but were largely steady in 2020 as a whole despite weaker demand and prices in overseas markets because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Diesel exports were 359,000 b/d in December, down by 24.9pc from 477,000 b/d in November. China's biggest refiner state-controlled Sinopec cut its diesel exports by from a month earlier in December, while fellow state-controlled refiner PetroChina increased its shipments slightly.

China exported 403,000 b/d of diesel last year, down by 7.8pc from 2019.

Jet-kerosine exports in December were 109,000 b/d, down by 77.3pc from the same month in 2019. Exports in 2020 as a whole fell by 43.5pc to 215,000 b/d, as shipments dropped sharply from highs in January-April.

China&#39;s 2020 oil product exports 000 b/d Gasoline &#177;% y-o-y Diesel &#177;% y-o-y Jet-kerosine &#177;% y-o-y January-February 383.1 29.3 431.4 1.8 385.3 19.1 March 496.1 8.2 681.0 4.3 376.7 -15.3 April 535.2 62.1 639.1 -1.1 533.9 31.4 May 185.4 -20.4 348.9 16.2 142.5 -62.3 June 214.1 -23.9 258.6 -49.9 202.5 -38.0 July 305.3 -28.2 132.4 -64.9 81.4 -77.1 August 332.5 15.3 262.3 -17.6 76.4 -74.8 September 329.6 -30.3 295.9 -19.2 68.4 -82.8 October 520.6 10.1 522.2 82.8 112.0 -72.2 November 354.9 -31.6 477.4 -13.2 121.0 -71.5 December 395.2 -16.5 358.6 -8.8 109.4 -77.3 January-December 369.6 -2.5 403.0 -7.8 215.1 -43.5 Source: China customs

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