China to open crude oil import market

China looks to further open crude oil import market - Reuters | China is considering opening up its crude import market to more refineries outside its dominant state giants, with quotas of at least 10 million tonnes being discussed for new entrants in 2014, according to traders and a government document seen by Reuters. Any new quotas would follow the entry this year by refinery operator ChemChina into the tightly controlled crude import market, and signal a further measured opening of crude purchases to smaller players as China prepares to add refining capacity....China imports about 5.7 million barrels per day (bpd) - nearly 6 percent of gobal supply - and this is expected to rise toward 9 million bpd by 2020, according to industry estimates ... Ten million tonnes is equivalent to about 200,000 bpd, and would represent an incremental step in opening up imports. ...China has kept tight control over crude imports to ensure stable domestic oil supply, with state giants Sinopec and PetroChina controlling nearly 90 percent of the country's total crude oil imports.