China is trimming dependence from some top oil suppliers such as Saudi Arabia in favor of Iraq and others, as greater availability of global oil helps Beijing diversify its sources of foreign crude.
China
is
trimming dependence from some top oil suppliers such as
Saudi
Arabia
in favor of
Iraq
and
others, as greater availability of global oil helps
Beijing
diversify its sources of foreign crude.
The changing makeup of
China
's
foreign oil suppliers is one example of how weaker demand from major buyers in
the
U.S.
,
Europe
and
Japan
is
reshaping global trade flows.
Beijing
hopes
the gradual shift in oil shipments can help it reduce dependence on a key group
of suppliers--though new shipments in many cases are coming from politically
risky areas.
Chinese customs data released Tuesday showed
China
's
crude imports declined or stagnated from some of its largest oil suppliers in
2013, including
Saudi Arabia
,
Kuwait
and
Venezuela
. Meanwhile,
China
has
increasingly tapped supplies in
Iraq
,
parts of western
Africa
and elsewhere.
Imports from
Saudi Arabia
,
China
's
largest overseas supplier, was flat in 2013 from a year earlier, the first time
in at least a decade that Chinese imports from the country haven't grown on an
annual basis. Growth in Saudi crude imports historically has been measured in
the double digits.
Imports over the past year from
Saudi
Arabia
,
Angola
and
Russia
--
China
's
largest suppliers in 2012--shrank as an overall share of total shipments. Last
year their crude made up 42% of
China
's
imports, compared with 44% in 2012.
At the same time, growing imports from smaller and emerging oil-producing
countries have helped make up for the shortfall. Imports from
Iraq
rose
roughly 50% in 2013, ranking it behind
Russia
as
China
's
fifth-largest source of foreign crude.
China
's
imports from the
Republic
of
Congo
surged 32% in 2013 to 7.1 million metric tons, or about 142,000 barrels a day,
ranking it No. 11, after
Kuwait
.
U.S.
imports from the
Republic
of
Congo
have
fallen sharply in recent years.
Greater diversity of supply helps shield the Chinese economy from political
risks that threaten its stability. Chinese oil companies operate in some of the
world's dodgiest locales, where political and social uncertainty routinely puts
flow of resources at risk. When fighting escalated in oil-rich
South
Sudan
last month, state-run China National Petroleum Corp. was forced to
evacuate its workers.
"God put oil in the wrong places," said Gordon Kwan, head of regional
energy research at Nomura.
Analysts say more crude is available globally because of weaker demand from
buyers in the
U.S.
,
Europe
and
Japan
,
whose economies are still recovering. Energy consumption in the
U.S.
and
Japan
is
also shifting to natural gas, they say.
"This is freeing up more crude oil for Asian buyers, and
China
is
certainly the biggest beneficiary," said Kang Wu, head of
Asia
at
energy consulting firm FGE. "No one is pressuring [Chinese importers] to
diversify, but diversification is a goal that's buried in the background of
day-to-day operations."
Overall, Chinese oil imports are slowing. Imports were up 4% in 2013 versus
growth of 7% in 2012, customs data show. The slowdown over the past years is
the result of several factors, including weaker economic expansion and
slackening construction of refineries in
China
.
Meanwhile,
China
's
dependence on foreign crude has continued to rise, and Chinese officials
estimate it is expected to reach 61% by 2015 from 54% in 2010.
China
's
apparent oil demand--net imports of refined oil products combined with the
amount of crude processed by refineries--also has been slowing.
China
's oil
demand grew 3% in 2013, slowing from 10% growth in 2010, according to the
International Energy Agency, the developed world's energy watchdog.
The release of Tuesday's data concludes a landmark year for Chinese oil
companies abroad. In February, Cnooc Ltd., the listed unit of the country's
primary offshore oil producer, closed on its $15.1 billion purchase of
Canada
's
Nexen Inc.--the largest foreign acquisition of a company by a Chinese firm. CNPC,
the country's largest energy producer, said crude oil at its overseas projects
last year surpassed 100 million metric tons for the first time.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration confirmed last year that China for
the first time had surpassed the U.S. as the world's largest net oil importer,
which is calculated as liquid fuels consumption minus domestic production. The
U.S.
is
still by far the largest importer of crude, though its imports have declined in
recent years because of higher domestic output and greater domestic supplies of
shale gas.
China
's
moderating economy is another major factor that has weighed on domestic oil
demand. Weaker manufacturing in
China
has
meant less trucking, one factor that has led to a slump in demand for diesel,
according to analysts at Barclays. Slowing economic growth and oil demand is
part of why
China
's
government is allowing its oil companies to sell more refined fuels abroad,
which has led to a surge in sales of gasoline and diesel to neighbors in
Southeast
Asia
.
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