China’s crude oil imports rebounded in August despite lower crude throughput at both state-owned and independent refineries, implying that the excess imported barrels likely made their way to storage tanks. China imported a total of 32.85 million mt, or 7.77 million b/d, of crude in August, up 5.7% from July, the first rebound after three consecutive month-on-month declines since April, when 7.96 million b/d of crude was imported, S&P Global Platts’ calculation based on customs data showed. China’s state-owned oil refiners Sinopec, PetroChina and China National Offshore Oil Corporation, planned to operate their plants at an average of 80% of nameplate capacity in August, down two percentage points from the planned run rate of 82% in July, according to a Platts survey. The actual average operating rate in August may, however, be lower than 80%, as some of the refineries under maintenance were not included in the survey, Platts […]