China has begun drawing down its large onshore crude inventories following more than two months of sustained stockpiling during the early phase of the Strait of Hormuz blockade, Vortexa analyst Emma Li said in a Tuesday note.
China's above-ground crude stocks stood at 1.22 billion barrels as of May 25, down almost 20 million barrels from record highs earlier this month.
At the current draw pace of about 1 million barrels per day, the roughly 70 million barrels accumulated during the first four months of 2026 could support refiners through mid-July.
Even if draw rates accelerate to 2 million b/d, the more than 200 million barrels added since early 2025 would likely sustain refiners through mid-September, Li said.
The stock draw signals a shift in China's crude procurement strategy after months of aggressive inventory builds.
State-run refiners accumulated stocks largely because of deep refinery run cuts, while private operators boosted holdings amid strong inflows of discounted Iranian and Russian crude.
During the first two months of the Hormuz crisis, state-run storage facilities led by Sinopec accumulated around 30 million barrels, while private storage operators in Shandong added roughly 22 million barrels.
In April, weak refining margins prompted both state-run and private refiners to retreat from the spot market and rely instead on inventories to offset Middle East supply disruptions.
State-run inventories have since fallen by around 6 million barrels over the month, while private inventories are down about 13 million barrels.
Chinese refiners had aggressively sought short-haul crude supplies earlier in the conflict, driving Russian and Iranian imports to record highs in March and maintaining elevated flows through April and May.
However, China's reduced spot buying has helped ease pressure on global crude prices, even as Asian crude imports in May remained about 4.5 million b/d below 2025 average levels.
Recent weakness in delivered-China crude prices suggests refiners are likely to continue drawing inventories rather than significantly increasing spot purchases in the near term, Li said.