China raises imports into Ningbo port in July

China's crude imports in July into its key Ningbo port rose seven per cent from last month to 1 million barrels a day, although it did not pump any of the oil into its strategic reserve, three port sources said yesterday.

The lack of shipments into the newly constructed state-owned storage tanks, which for now are being effectively operated as commercial storage by state oil firms, come during a month in which crude futures prices rallied by 10 per cent.

Total imports into Ningbo - China's biggest oil port, which includes both commercial and strategic stocks, plus a refinery - rose to 4.18 million tonnes last month, a local port source familiar with crude oil flows told Reuters.

But none of those supplies were diverted to specially built strategic tanks, nor has the nearby Aoshan terminal - Beijing's second reserve site - received a second tanker of crude oil following its maiden shipment discharged in late May.

"There were no discharges into the government tanks in Ningbo and Aoshan last month, it was very quiet," said the source. A second Aoshan-based source confirmed this.

Beijing does not release any public information about its strategic oil reserves, a cornerstone of Beijing's plan to protect against any unexpected supply disruptions as its dependence on imported crude nears the halfway mark.

The tanks were commissioned a year ago. Port sources say that about 45 million barrels of crude oil have been discharged since then, far beyond their 33 million-barrel capacity, as operator Sinopec releases some oil back into the market.

July would be only the second month in the past year that the tanks did not receive any fresh crude.