China's crude oil imports hit record high

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) China's crude oil imports in July jumped 29.3 percent from a year earlier to 30.71 million tons, or 7.26 million barrels a day (bpd), marking a new record high on a monthly basis, latest government data showed.
The volume surpassed a previous monthly record of 30.37 million tons logged in December, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs. Crude oil imports by the world's second-largest oil consumer in the January-July period went up 10.4 percent from the same period of 2014 to 6.71 million bpd. Earlier this year, China began to allow local resource-starved refineries to import crude oil, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Qualified local refineries are allowed to import crude oil if they cut backward capacity or install natural gas storage facilities. Previously, China only allowed government-approved refineries to use imported crude oil in the past.
However, the emergence of unregistered refineries has led to upgrades in the refinery sector.