China’s crude oil imports to rise

BEIJING: China’s crude oil imports will exceed 400 million tonnes this year, said an executive at a Chinese state oil giant, as continuing low oil prices and declining domestic output sparked increased overseas purchases.

China’s crude imports are also expected to grow by double digits in 2018, Zhang Haichao, vice president of Sinopec Group, told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry conference in Beijing.

Zhang’s estimates mean Chinese demand for imported crude would grow by around 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year, which would likely make China the world’s largest crude oil importer on an annual basis for the first time ever.

CPC Corp to shut oil refining unit

SINGAPORE: Taiwan’s CPC Corp is planning to shut a secondary unit at its 350,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) Talin oil refinery in September, a company spokesman told Reuters.

It will shut the 80,000 bpd residual fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) unit for scheduled maintenance, he added.

A RFCC unit breaks down residual fuel oil and reformulates it into higher-value oil products, mainly gasoline but also some middle distillates such as jet fuel and diesel.

Total completes reformer restart

HOUSTON: Total restarted the catalytic reformer at its 225,500 barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, said Gulf Coast market sources.

The 35,000-bpd continuous catalytic reformer was shut by a pump failure, the sources said. Total began restarting the unit.

QEP to sell Wyoming natgas assets

NEW YORK: QEP Resources said it would sell its natural gas assets in Wyoming to privately held Pinedale Energy Partners LLC for about $740 million, as the US oil and gas producer focuses on liquids-rich, higher-margin assets.

Like other oil and gas companies, QEP has been looking to increase exposure to low-cost drilling basins such as the Permian in West Texas, following a more than two-year slump in oil prices.

Denver, Colorado-based QEP said last year it would spend $600 million to buy acreage in the prolific basin.