Rising Fuel Tax Forces Independent Chinese Refiners to Idle Plants

At least four independent refiners in China have halted or plan to idle operations as taxes on imported feedstock rose at the start of the year, further cutting into refining margins, trading and refinery sources have told Reuters. China’s smaller independent refiners, located in the Shandong province, were already struggling with profitability even before the start of this year, amid weak fuel consumption in the world’s top crude oil importer. These private refiners, which are short on crude import quotas or haven’t been allocated…