Chinese state-run refiners may resume US crude imports after a nine-month suspension amid the supply crisis in the Middle East, despite the additional 20% tariffs remaining in place, crude procurement strategists from two state-run refining groups, four refinery sources, and three analysts told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, on March 9.
“Beijing may even temporarily exempt the additional tariff on US energy if the supply crisis sustains, as this will be a national emergency,” a Beijing-based market analyst said on March 9. “US ethane is an example — it is exempt from the additional tariff because China almost fully relies on US supply.”
A refining source based in eastern China echoed this sentiment on March 9, saying, “The government needs to figure this out to sustain supplies for domestic consumption.”
Shipping fixtures available to Platts suggested that around eight crude cargoes scheduled for loading from the US Gulf Coast would be delivered to China. Most of the cargoes were likely to be light sweet crude, such as WTI Midland, despite a trade source saying the cargoes could be diverted if the supply crisis ends. One of these cargoes was loaded on March 7.
This came as NYMEX front-month crude jumped $20.34 to $111.24/b on the open on March 8 as the war in the Middle East took a toll on energy infrastructure in the region.
Platts assessed freight for the 270,000-metric ton VLCC US Gulf Coast-China route for the typical loading dates of March 21-April 20 at a lump sum $26 million ($96.30/mt) on March 6, down from $28.5 million on March 5 and the record high $29.3 million on March 4.
Before the war, the freight moved between $53.70/mt and $14.44/mt, Platts data showed.
Four refinery sources told Platts that they refused to take the US crude due to the additional tariffs. “It would make a loss of about $30/b after $20/b freight and $16/b tariff,” a South China-based refining source estimated on March 9.
Consider every available barrel
But when asked about resuming US crude imports, a Beijing-based feedstock procurement strategist with a state-run refining group said, “We are considering it. Tariffs aren’t a big deal any more– the freight rates are even higher than the tariffs.”
“Every barrel available in the world is under our consideration,” the strategist said on March 9.
“Supply risk is rising, as the duration of the war may be longer than previously expected. We can draw on some commercial inventories, but those are limited, so we must look for anything available,” said a strategist with another state-owned group.
China’s state-owned refineries are required by the government to secure energy supplies to the domestic market, which is their primary responsibility, followed by making a profit, according to market sources.
Due to US-China trade tensions, Chinese refiners had suspended US crude imports since June 2025, leading annual trade flows to fall 72.6% year over year to 2.29 million mt, customs data showed.
The country’s onshore crude inventory reached another record high of 1.32 billion barrels on March 5, rising from the previous high of 1.31 billion barrels on Feb. 26, according to the latest weekly data provided by Ursa Space.
The Chinese government has required refineries to slash refined oil product exports to cut crude consumption. If the war continues to disrupt crude oil flows from the Middle East, Chinese refiners would draw from their abundant crude reserves, Platts reported earlier.
Source: Platts
