China is estimated to have sent around 760,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil to its strategic and commercial reserves in August, as refinery throughput in the world’s top oil importer slumped to the lowest in 15 months. Last month, China reversed four months of estimated draws from its inventories, mostly as a result of the low refinery volumes, according to estimates of Reuters columnist Clyde Russell based on official Chinese data. Refinery runs in China fell to 13.74 million bpd in August – the lowest in 15 months , on the back of a sizeable cut in fuel export quotas and the latest wave of Covid-19. The decline in refinery run rates came amid a government crackdown on independent refiners—the so-called teapots. These teapots have come to account for a considerable portion of oil imports and fuel exports, which have contributed to a regional fuel glut that […]