China’s biggest oil refiner is scaling back operations as Beijing’s aggressive response to the delta virus variant saps demand for road and aviation fuel, according to an analyst.
State-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., commonly known as Sinopec, is cutting run rates at some plants by 5% to 10% this month as compared with July levels, Jean Zou, an analyst at Shanghai-based commodities researcher ICIS-China, said in an interview. The analytics firm tracks refinery operations, maintenance plans and processing margins across China.
A Beijing-based official from Sinopec’s press office declined to comment when contacted on the matter.
Millions of Chinese are shelving travel plans amid the peak summer season and hunkering down as the government imposes mobility curbs to stifle the re-emergence of Covid-19 in the world’s biggest oil importer. Beijing is following a strict containment approach despite having a vaccination rate higher than the U.S., prompting a reassessment of the global crude demand outlook.