OREANDA-NEWS. China's state-controlled Unipec bought 36mn bl (150,000 b/d) of US crude in January-August and is likely to continue its buying spree for the rest of this year, senior analyst Wang Pei said at the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference (Appec).

The firm's US crude imports have surged from 23,000 b/d in 2016 as a whole. Unipec, the trading arm of China's top refiner Sinopec, is currently the biggest buyer of US crude in China and has taken grades including WTI, Eagle Ford condensate, Mars and Southern Green Canyon.

Relatively steady Chinese crude production and rising domestic crude runs will lead to higher imports, part of which will be met by US crude, Wang said.

Crude runs in China could rise to almost 13mn b/d by the end of 2019 while domestic production may only edge up to just above 4mn b/d, keeping crude import volumes high. China's net crude imports were around 8.17mn b/d in July, while crude production was 3.7mn b/d. Refinery runs were 10.7mn b/d, Argus estimates.

Buyers could be able to lift US crude in 2mn bl cargoes by 2021 because of planned expansions at US export terminals. This could reduce the freight cost of moving US crude to Asia-Pacific by around $1-1.50/bl, Wang said.