中國12月原油日進口量首超700萬桶

China’s crude oil imports rose above 7m barrels per day for the first time in December, reaching record levels as plunging international prices allowed the world’s largest importer to fill strategic and commercial reserves.

中國去年12月的原油進口量首次突破每日700萬桶，達到創紀錄水平，全球最大石油進口國借國際油價大幅下降之機充實戰略和商業儲備。

International crude prices are near six-year lows, revisiting levels last seen in the wake of the global financial crisis. While price controls over transport fuels limit the boost to the Chinese economy, the drop has presented an unusual opportunity for China to increase reserves of crude oil at relatively little cost.

國際原油價格目前接近6年低點，回落至全球金融危機之後跌入的低谷。儘管針對運輸燃料的價格管制限制了中國經濟得到的提振效果，但油價下跌帶來了不尋常的機會，讓中國以相對較小的代價增加原油儲備。

China imported 7.15m bpd in December, bringing its full-year crude imports to a record 308m tonnes, up nearly 10 per cent on the year. Some of that additional demand reflects economic growth and new refineries coming on line but most is probably going into tank farms, say market watchers.

12月，中國的石油進口量達到每日715萬桶，使全年原油進口量達到創紀錄的3.08億噸，同比增長近10%。市場觀察人士表示，一部分新增需求反映了經濟增長和新的煉油廠陸續投產，但大部分額外進口很可能進入了儲備基地的油罐。

Over the course of 2014 Chinese crude imports averaged 6.2m b/d, up 530,000 b/d or 9.6 per cent on 2013, when the growth rate was 5 per cent.

2014年期間，中國原油進口量平均爲每日620萬桶，比2013年日進口量增加53萬桶，增幅9.6%（2013年的同比增幅爲5%）。

China is the world’s biggest oil importer and its strategic reserve programme has long been a matter of conjecture, although the country has pledged greater transparency over its stock builds.

中國是世界最大的石油進口國，其戰略石油儲備計劃一直是外界猜測對象，儘管中國已承諾提高有關儲備量的透明度。

In November, Beijing announced for the first time the status of the first phase of commercial storage facilities, but the pace at which the second and third phases are being completed and filled was not announced.

去年11月，北京方面首次公佈國家石油儲備一期工程的情況，但沒有說明二期和三期工程的建設或注油進度。

New commercial storage facilities plus an estimated 101m barrels of new strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) operated by the three state oil companies will lift China’s crude demand by about 150,000 b/d in 2015, according to Argus Media estimates. In 2014, China is reckoned to have added 100m barrels to its stockpiles.

根據能源數據公司阿格斯傳媒(Argus Media)的估計，新建的商業儲備設施，加上三家國有石油公司運行的估計1.01億桶的新建戰略石油儲備(SPR)，將使2015年中國原油需求提升大約每日15萬桶。據估計，2014年期間中國增加了1億桶石油儲備。

Analysts had expected a jump in December crude imports because Chinese buying accelerated in October as the oil price rout gathered pace.

分析師此前就預計12月份原油進口量會大幅增長，因爲隨着油價崩盤提速，中方從10月份加快了購買步伐。

Chinaoil, the trading arm of China National Petroleum Corporation, went on a huge buying spree, snapping up millions of barrels of Middle East crude as global oil prices slumped.

中國石油天然氣集團公司(CNPC)下屬的貿易公司——中聯油(Chinaoil)掀起一股購買狂潮，趁着全球油價暴跌，大舉買入數以百萬桶計的中東原油。

It bought more than 20m barrels of Dubai, Oman and Upper Zakum grades — many of them from Unipec, the subsidiary of Chinese state oil company Sinopec. Most of these cargoes arrived in December.

該公司買下2000餘萬桶迪拜(Dubai)、阿曼(Oman)和上扎庫姆(Upper Zakum)的原油，其中有很多貨來自中國國有石油公司中石化(Sinopec)的子公司聯合石化(Unipec)。大部分貨物已在12月交付。

“The increase in December imports is also mirrored in the number of very large crude carriers heading to China, which picked up sharply from end-September, averaging a record high 76 in November,” said Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at Energy Aspects, a consultancy.

“12月進口量的增加也反映在開往中國的超大型油輪的數量上，這個數字從9月底開始大幅上升，在11月達到平均76艘的新高，”諮詢機構Energy Aspects的首席石油分析師阿姆裏塔•森(Amrita Sen)表示。

Chinese import data can be “lumpy” on a monthly basis but tend to rise more smoothly on a quarterly basis, cautions Thomas Hilboldt, Asian oil and gas analyst with HSBC in Hong Kong. “Will the January numbers be as shockingly headline-generating? The probability is not. You have to absorb it at some point.”

匯豐(HSBC)常駐香港的亞洲石油和天然氣分析師托馬斯•希爾伯特(Thomas Hilboldt)告誡稱，中國的月度進口數據可能比較波動，但季度數據往往顯示出比較平穩的上升態勢。“1月份的數據會同樣令人吃驚、成爲頭條新聞嗎？從概率來看不會這樣。你總得在某個時候消化掉那麼多石油。”