Sopuruchi Onwuka

Despite being world’s biggest importer of crude oil and condensate, China’s export of fuels including petrol, diesel, and jet fuel surged by double digits to multi-month highs in July as plant throughput jumped by 9% to 14.85 million barrels per day.

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Official data showed that crude oil imports by China’s refineries also jumped by 11.5% in July from a year earlier as major state refiners boosted processing rates.

Our review of market reports showed that China whose demand shapes price movements in the global petroleum exchanges is also rising to become leading exporter of refined products to the same markets from where it mopped raw materials.

Several market sources reported weekend that shipments of critical transportation fuels from China accelerated in the past month as total exported gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, and marine fuel jumped by 7.1% from 2024 levels to 5.34 million tons in July.

Oracle Intelligence reports that the China’s refinery performance holds up appraisal mirror for Nigeria which burnt all its oil fortunes in few years of scandalous fuel import rackets, and now allowing private refiners to explore commercial opportunities in displacing huge fuel importation programmes with locally refined products.

The nation’s public sector refineries operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited are still currently moribund despite the huge controversies over monumental expenses squandered in phony rehabilitation contracts.

In the case of China, oil refining throughput accelerated amid higher utilization capacity at state-owned refiners; and exported refined petroleum products reached in July.

According to the Chinese customs data cited in market reports, China’s shipments surged in July from the same month of 2024 as diesel exports soared by 53.2% while gasoline shipments jumped by 18.6%. Jet fuel shipments increased by 10.9% year on year, to the highest level since March 2025.

Official data showed that China’s July exports maintained the rising trend from June, as higher refinery runs in the period resulted in increased crude throughput and exports of fuels.

The data showed that China posted strongest oil refining levels in June as improved fuel margins and the end of spring maintenance boosted oil refinery throughput to the highest level since September 2023.

Data from consultancy Oilchem quoted in market reports indicated that utilization across China’s refineries rose from 2024 levels to hit 71.84%.