Market Chatter: China to Allow State Refiners to Tap Commercial Oil Reserves Amid Energy Crunch
China has allowed state refiners to tap commercial oil reserves, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.The move comes amid a global energy crisis brought about by the war in Iran, according to the report.The sources did not say how much the state-owned refiners such as China Petroleum & Chemical (HKG:0386, SHA:600028) or Sinopec and PetroChina (HKG:0857, SHA:601857) parent China National Petroleum Corp. could take, the report said.China could allow refiners to extract reserves of up to 1 million barrels daily from April to June, the report said, citing analysts at Energy Aspects.Chinese crude imports reach 11 million barrels daily, Bloomberg reported.(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)