Logistical bottlenecks and growing crude inventories will soon force China’s independent refiners to cut back on a surge of imports.
China’s independent oil refiners, known as teapots, were granted licenses to import crude only last year.
Frenzied buying of oil imports from the teapots to stock up on cheap crude in the first quarter helped push prices to 2016 highs. This led to long lines of tankers waiting to unload at ports in eastern Shandong province,causing difficulties for logistics and freight operators as freight vehicles waited in long queues.