The United States next year for the first time in history may lose its leadership in the oil refining market, yielding to China, which is increasing its capacityreports Bloomberg citing International Energy Agency (IEA).
As noted in the publication, the United States has been a leader in oil refining since the beginning of the oil era in the mid-nineteenth century. However, already in 2021, China will take this position, experts predicted. The change of leadership may also occur due to the fact that at least four refineries are currently under construction in China, while similar enterprises are being closed in the United States.
According to the agency, the total capacity of Chinese oil refineries may reach 1.2 million barrels per day, which is comparable to oil refining throughout the UK. At the same time, it is noted that the global demand for fuel has decreased due to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, so the volumes of oil production and refining also had to be reduced. The decline amounted to a record 1.7 million barrels per day, and more than half fell on American enterprises.
Previously customs department of China published statistics, according to which the country from January to October 2020 increased oil imports by 10.6 percent compared to the same period of 2019, and gas imports – by 4.7 percent. China began buying oil and gas amid a sharp collapse in energy prices. In this regard, he spent only $ 150.17 billion, which is 24.5 percent less than a year ago.
From January to September this year, the Chinese economy grew by 0.7 percent. International Monetary Fund (IMF) noted that China will become the only one of the largest economies of the world, which will show growth by the end of 2020.