China’s crude imports will rise further from a record this year to feed its expanding refining sector and strategic reserves, according to Standard Chartered Bank. The nation’s average crude imports will rise by as much as 600,000 barrels a day this year, analysts including Priya N. Balchandani said in a March 24 report. Imports last month surged above 8 million barrels a day for the first time and exceeded volumes shipped to the U.S., the world’s top oil user, according to the bank. Standard Chartered expects China’s crude imports will top 10 million barrels a day by late 2018 or early 2019. “Strong crude import growth accompanies a continuing build in China’s refining industry,” the analysts wrote in the report. “This expansion has combined with a build in strategic petroleum reserves to keep crude imports high.” China took advantage of falling oil prices to fill strategic reserves, pushing imports […]