China Cutting Refinery Runs

Asia’s largest refiner, Sinopec, is cutting refinery runs in February by about 12%, or 600K b/d (its steepest cut since the 2008 financial crisis), as the coronavirus hits fuel demand and distribution, reports Reuters. Independent refineries in east China’s Shandong province, which make up a fifth of China’s oil imports, have also cut their operations by 30-50% to below half capacity, a level not seen since at least 2015.