Yahoo Finance

Analysis-China's vast refining sector faces shakeout as fuel demand peaks

Up to 10% of China's oil refining capacity faces closure in the next ten years as an earlier-than-expected peak in Chinese fuel demand crushes margins and Beijing's drive to wring out inefficiency begins to squeeze older and smaller plants. Tighter U.S. sanctions enforcement under the incoming Trump administration could send more plants into the red and accelerate shutdowns by halting access to cheap crude from the likes of Iran, industry players and analysts say. The world's second-largest refining industry has long been plagued by excess capacity after expanding to capitalise on three decades of rapid demand growth.