China diesel exports fell in May from a record in April, but both diesel and gasoline exports were still sharply up on the year as oil firms raised refinery rates to a record, but had little space left to store the extra output. Imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), a clean fuel for power generation and house cooking, surged to a record high of 510,000 tonnes on falling prices and as a new receiving terminal in Fujian province started operations.
Refineries, taking advantage of a margin guaranteed fuel pricing scheme and a waiver of a 17 percent value-added tax on exports, raised refinery output to record rates in May amid rising domestic sales. May diesel exports were 390,000 tonnes, off April's record 510,000 tonnes but up nine-fold from a year-ago, and May gasoline exports at 310,000 tonnes were double the year-earlier rate, preliminary customs data obtained by Reuters showed on Thursday.
State refiner Sinopec Corp and PetroChina have since late 2008 boosted overseas shipments of gasoline and diesel, reversing a trade pattern seen much of last year of massive stockpiling ahead of the Olympics and before the global economic crisis crushed domestic demand.
Fuel oil imports were at 2.36 million tonnes, higher than trade estimates but below the 2.86 million tonnes level in May last year. The average price for LNG imports in May, including both spot cargoes and shipments under long-term deals, was at $3.57 per British thermal units (mmBtu), compared with $3.91 per mmBtu in April, calculations based on the preliminary data showed.
China last year paid as much as $22 per mmBtu for spot LNG but the cost of a spot cargo fell to $9.43 in March and to $5.50 in April, the data showed. China is expected to have doubled purchases of the super-cooled natural gas from the spot market to at least four cargoes in July from two in June, industry sources said.