China’s stockpiling of crude oil ground to almost a halt in 2021, reversing years of strong increases as the world’s biggest importer of the fuel built up strategic reserves. China likely added about 170,000 barrels per day (bpd) to strategic and commercial inventories last year, down sharply from 1.26 million bpd in 2020.The scaling back of crude stockpiling means China’s role as a major driver of crude oil demand growth may be waning, and imports are likely to become more aligned with its refinery processing rates. China doesn’t disclose the volumes of crude flowing into or out of strategic and commercial ... (full story)