China’s independent refineries’ crude imports from the Middle East jumped 59% on the month in March, with Saudi Arabian shipments climbing to the top second place, a monthly survey by S&P Global Platts showed Friday. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now The combined imports from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and the UAE increased to 4.73 million mt, from a lower base of 2.98 million mt in February. Combined imports from the Middle East accounted for about 38.8% of the total for March. Those crude barrels from the Middle East were mainly brought in by Hengli Petrochemical, and Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical, which account for about 66% of the total Middle Eastern grades. Hengli Petrochemical and Zhejiang have term contracts with Saudi Aramco, making them steady buyers for those grades from Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Shandong refineries last month also doubled their imports from […]