CHINA’S Ministry of Commerce yesterday published the names of 11 private refineries with a plan to allow them to directly import crude oil.

The ministry said it has examined the firms’ applications and found them in accordance with requirements.

The refineries are located in the provinces of Liaoning, Shaanxi, Shandong, Henan and Hubei.

China is one of the world’s largest oil buyers. Over 60 percent of its oil comes from imports. Crude imports are dominated by State-run giants Sinopec, China National Petroleum Corp. and China National Offshore Oil Corp.

In February 2015 the country gave private refineries the green light to directly import crude as the government tried to attract private capital into the largely monopolized sector.

Qualified local refineries would only be allowed to import crude oil if they cut back capacity or install natural gas storage facilities, according to an announcement from the National Reform and Development Commission, the country’s top economic planner.

The Ministry of Commerce specified the requirements for non-State companies to import crude July 23, 2015. Qualified firms must have an annual refining capacity of over 2 million tons and meet efficiency and environmental standards. They should also have storage capacity for no less than 300,000 tons of crude, with terminals that can handle more than 50,000 tons.

There are more than 20 qualified non-State importers, but they have limited quotas.

On Nov. 8, 2017, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced that the quota for non-State crude oil imports would be raised to 142 million tons for 2018, 55 percent higher than that for 2017.

Customs data showed China imported 420 million tons of crude oil in 2017, up 10.1 percent year on year.

In August 2014, Xinjiang Guanghui Petroleum Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Guanghui Energy Co. Ltd., secured government approval to import crude, the first private enterprise authorized to do so since 2008.

(Xinhua)