CHINA'S OIL THROUGHPUT UP TO 13.68 MBD

PLATTS - Crude oil throughput at China's domestic refineries jumped 9.2% year on year in October, to breach the 13 million b/d mark for the second time ever, at 13.68 million b/d, amid abundant crude supplies, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed Thursday.

The high throughput was within expectation, while S&P Global Platts Analytics estimated the processing crude volume in the fourth quarter would stay high.

China's crude supplies, comprising output and net imports, grew 12.3% year on year to the record high of 14.57 million b/d, according to data from NBS and General Adminstration of Customs.

Supported by the supplies, both state-owned and independent refineries sustained their runs at a high level during the traditional peak season for throughput during September-November, when product demand remains strong with less refinery turnarounds.

S&P Global Platts' survey showed that the average run rate at China's state-owned refiners Sinopec, PetroChina, Sinochem and CNOOC hit a seven-year high of 85.7% in October, up slightly from 85.5% in September.

Platts Analytics estimated maintenance by the state-owned refineries fell to a nine-month low of 64,000 b/d in October, from 204,000 b/d in the previous month.

Meanwhile, independent refiners in the eastern Shandong province buoyed their runs at 67.7% in October, despite being slightly lower from the 19-month high of 68.3% in September, according to local information provider JLC.

As a result, the country's throughput for the second time crossed the 13 million b/d mark, after doing so for the first time in September at 13.8 million b/d.

NBS releases data in metric tons, which Platts converts to barrels using a 7.33 conversion factor.

The country's crude throughput in October totaled 57.84 million mt, up 2.4% from the 56.49 million mt in September, NBS data showed.

THROUGHPUT TO RISE 776,000 B/D IN Q4

Platts Analytics expected the crude throughput to have a year-on-year increase of 776,000 b/d in Q4, which was higher than the 738,000 b/d estimated for the whole year.

It was due to the startup of 400,000 b/d Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical in December, while the country's turnaround activity continues to decline sequentially in Q4 from 708,000 b/d in September, it said in the report.

Moreover, refineries will also look to maximize petrochemical yields ahead of the Christmas manufacturing season, it said.

In January-October, China processed 12.95 million b/d or 537.1 million mt of crude oil, rising 6.3% year on year, according to NBS.

Looking forward to 2020, Platts Analytics expected runs to rise by 574,000 b/d year on year due to the full ramp up of mega refineries and rising demand for bunker fuel.

JAN-OCT CRUDE OUTPUT UP 1.3%

In addition to rising imports, China's crude oil output was also recovering with the state-owned oil giants' increasing capital expenditures in the upstream sector for the nation's energy security.

In the first 10 months, China's crude oil production went up 1.3% on the year to 3.84 million b/d or 159.25 million mt, NBS' data showed.

The pace was higher than the 1.2% registered for January-September, despite the production in October being unchanged at 3.81 million b/d from a year ago.

The total domestic crude oil output by the state-owned PetroChina, CNOOC and Sinopec booked a year-on-year growth of 1.4% to 128.2 million mt in the first three quarters, company reports showed in end-October.

The volume accounted for 88.4% of China's crude oil production over the period.

PetroChina, which produces 52% of the domestic crude barrels, said its crude output growth of 1.4% year on year in January-September was sustainable over the next two to three years amid the recent oil discovery in Erdos.

"We have additional oil proven reserve of 358 million mt, with estimated original oil reserve in place was 693 million mt in Erdos," a senior official said during the company's Q3 results briefing.

"While for natural gas, we have accumulated proven reserve of 1 trillion cm in Sichuan Basin with the recent discovery," he added.

PetroChina produced 54.3% or 76.13 Bcm of China's domestic natural gas in January-September.

In October, China's natural gas output rose 8.2% year on year to 14.6 Bcm, bringing the total output over January-October to 142.3 Bcm, up 9.3% year on year, NBS' data showed.

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