China can't get enough of the world's crude oil, courtesy teapot refineries

Teapots can largely explain the 50% growth of inbound shipments since 2014

China can’t get enough of the world’s crude oil. The only problem is, what to do with it?

Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Saudi Aramco, sharply raised prices for Asian shipments on Tuesday, lifting its premium on Arab Light crude by 50 cents to $1.20 a barrel above the Oman-Dubai benchmark. That’s a dramatically steeper increase than the 15 cents to 35 cents expected by traders, and it’s being driven by a bottomless thirst from Chinese refiners. 

China’s imports of crude have been surging since 2015, when Beijing started allowing its “teapot” refineries — small-scale independent operations that are mostly