Congestion at China’s east coast oil ports that is adding to costs for shippers and importers is likely to run well into August, with crude shipments set to hit another record high this month, according to analysts and Refinitiv data. The massive inflows are straining offloading facilities, while refiners and port operators in Shandong province — home to a quarter of China’s refining capacity — are rushing to build new storage tanks. July seaborne arrivals into the world’s biggest oil importer are expected to surge to 14.4 million barrels per day, Refinitiv analyst Emma Li said, well above record imports of 12.9 million bpd in June. China waded into oil markets in April when prices collapsed to multi-decade lows, snapping up cargoes for delivery in the coming months. (Graphic: Qingdao anchorage vessel congestion – here ) As of July 23, about 120 million barrels of crude were […]