China disciplined its independent refiners by lowering their import quotas by 11%, as part of a crackdown on tax evasion. The import quota of 109 million tons of crude oil composes the first batch of import quotas for 2022.
Some of the independent refiners are being investigated for irregular tax practices.
According to analysts cited by Bloomberg lower oil imports are expected due to Beijing intention to lower pollution for the Winter Olympics, crack down on illegal practices by refiners and intermittent lock-downs due to a zero-Covid policy.
China is the second largest consumer of oil in the world with 12.8 million barrels per day after he United States which consumes 19.7 million barrels per day.
Chinese oil imports are expected to average around 10.7 million barrels a day in March 2022.
