China imported 8.4 million barrels per day of crude oil in 2017, more than any other country in the world, surpassing the U.S., which imported 7.9 MMbbl/d in 2017.

China became the world's largest net importer of total petroleum and other liquid fuels in 2013, but crude oil imports in particular have continued to rise due to new refinery capacity, strategic inventory stockpiling and declining domestic oil production.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, approximately 56% of China's crude oil imports in 2017 came from OPEC countries, down from a peak of 67% in 2012. In that time, Russia has increased its market shares from 9% to 14%, while Brazil's market share has climbed from 2% to 5%. In 2016, Russia topped Saudi Arabia as China's largest source of foreign crude oil, providing 1.2 MMbbl/d to China in 2017 compared with Saudi Arabia's 1.0 MMbbl/d.
In a "Today in Energy" post dated Feb. 5, the EIA noted several factors driving the increase in China's crude oil imports, including a decline in domestic production, an increase in stockpiles and rising consumption driven specifically by the refining sector.
Total liquids production in China averaged 4.8 MMbbl/d in 2017, a year-over-year decline of 0.1 MMbbl/d, or 2%, from 2016, and the EIA forecasts further declines in both 2018 and 2019.
At the same time, China's consumption of petroleum and other liquid fuels in 2017 was the world's largest for the ninth consecutive year, growing 0.4 MMbbl/d, or 3%, to 13.2 MMbbl/d, according to the EIA estimates.
In addition, as China has built up inventories of strategic petroleum reserves, the country's crude oil imports have increased faster than their domestic consumption.
China's crude oil imports have also increased because of higher refinery runs and expanding refinery capacity. China's refinery runs increased by an estimated 0.5 MMbbl/d in 2017 to 11.4 MMbbl/d, driven in part by two refinery expansions in the second half of the year.
"Ongoing infrastructure expansions will likely contribute to further increases in China's crude oil imports," the EIA said, noting that as much as 1.4 MMbbl/d of new refinery capacity is planned to open in China by the end of 2019.
