China has ordered the country’s biggest oil refiners to halt diesel and gasoline exports as the escalating conflict in the Persian Gulf disrupts oil supplies from one of the world’s biggest producers, a Bloomberg report said.
Officials from the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s leading economic planner, met with refinery executives and verbally requested a temporary halt in refined product shipments to begin immediately, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Refiners were ordered to stop signing new contracts and negotiate the cancellation of existing supplies. An exemption was granted for jet fuel and bunker fuel stored in customs facilities, as well as deliveries destined for Hong Kong and Macao.
PetroChina Co., Sinopec, CNOOC Ltd., Sinochem Group and private refinery Zhejiang Petrochemical Co. they routinely obtain fuel export quotas from the government, the report said.
China has a large refining industry, but most of its production goes to domestic demand, so it is not a key supplier. It ranks third among Asian maritime exporters after South Korea and Singapore. But Beijing’s precautionary restrictions reflect efforts across the import-dependent region to prioritize domestic needs as the Middle East crisis worsens.
Almost no oil or fuel has left the Persian Gulf since the American and Israeli attacks began over the weekend. As a result, refineries from Japan to Indonesia and India are reducing their operating rates and halting exports.
China has recently sought to diversify its hydrocarbon sources, but nearly half of its oil imports still come from the Persian Gulf, including almost all supplies from Iran.
What happens to upcoming exports?
With most March exports already completed and cargo withdrawals difficult, the new directive is likely to reduce exports from April, Reuters said, citing people familiar with the matter.
In March, combined gasoline, diesel and jet fuel exports are expected to remain close to an earlier industry estimate of about 3.8 million metric tons, as companies benefited from strong Asian margins.
The report further cited LSEG ship-tracking data which showed that around 70,000 tonnes of jet fuel (551,600 barrels), 35,000 tonnes of diesel (260,750 barrels) and 35,000 tonnes of petrol (295,750 barrels) have been shipped so far this month.
China, the world’s top oil importer, manages fuel exports through a quota system to balance domestic supply and demand fundamentals, with its initial quota for 2026 largely unchanged from the previous year at 19 million tonnes.
