China emerging on top in OPEC price war as it stockpiles crude oil
Bloomberg News | December 1, 2014
China boosted imports by 8.3%, or 460,000 barrels a day, in the first nine months of this year, the fastest pace since 2010, customs data show.
The nation’s efforts to boost reserves may increase its imports by as much as 700,000 barrels a day in 2015, according to London-based Energy Aspects Ltd. That’s more than half the global glut forecast by Citigroup Inc. after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries refrained from cutting output at its meeting last week. Brent crude has slumped 41% from its peak in June.
The world’s second-biggest economy consumed the largest volume of oil on record in October, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
China National United Oil Co. in October bought a record 23.5 million barrels of Middle East crude on a Singapore trading platform. The unit of the nation’s biggest energy company may be helping build stockpiles for commercial or strategic purposes, according to Victor Shum, a Singapore-based vice president at IHS Inc., an industry consultant.
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