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China annual oil refinery output falls for first time in 20 months in the middle of maintenance

China's refinery output fell 3.3% in April from a year earlier, the first annual decrease in 20 months, as big refiners performed regular upkeep and small independent plants curbed production due to thin earnings margins.

Refinery throughput was 58.79 million metric tons, according to data from the National Bureau of Stats (NBS) on Friday, comparable to 14.3 million barrels daily (bpd).

That's lower than 15.09 million bpd in March and 14.45 million bpd for the January-February period.

The 3.3% fall was the first year-on-year decrease considering that August 2022, according to ' records of NBS data.

State-run refineries such as Sinopec's Zhanjiang and Zhenhai refineries, in addition to large independent refiner Dalian Hengli Petrochemical underwent prepared upkeep in April, according to Chinese products consultancy Oilchem.

Smaller sized independent processors run at less than 55% of capacity in April, down some 10 percentage points from a year earlier, Oilchem's data showed.

Throughput for January to April inched up 1.1% from a year earlier to 241.26 million heaps, or 14.56 million bpd, the data revealed, showing a choice up in economic activity as more people taken a trip and so increased use of fuel and air travel fuel.

State refining giants Sinopec and PetroChina both reported strong year-on-year fuel sales growth in the very first quarter, domestically and for exports, as they cashed in on firm local refining margins.

Jet fuel sales led the expansion followed by fuel, though diesel fuel lagged as China's prolonged home concerns cut into using the fuel for building and construction.

Guest air traffic rose 1.84% year-on-year in April to 800,990 flights, a level about 4% greater than April of 2019 before COVID, according to civil aviation information company Variflight.

While domestic flights last month dipped year on year, international flights more than doubled to 55,672, although they stayed 30% lower than April 2019, the information showed.

NBS information revealed China's petroleum production in April rose 1.3% from a year earlier to 17.47 million lots, or about 4.25 million bpd. Year-to-date, output was up 2.1% on year at 70.95 million tons, or 4.28 million bpd.

Natural gas production grew 3.2% last month to 19.8 billion cubic metres

(source: Reuters)