Worldometer, China Oil Reserves, Production and Consumption<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"China is the world’s largest crude oil importer, but in 2026 its buying swung hard. Here are the numbers, why China depends so heavily on imported oil, and why the 2026 pace fell to an eight-year low before recovering.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"p54_article_data":"{\"meta\":{\"kicker\":\"Answer \u00b7 Oil Markets\",\"topics\":[\"Oil Markets\",\"Analysis\"],\"title\":\"How Much Oil Does China Import Per Day in 2026?\",\"dek\":\"China is the world's largest crude oil importer, but in 2026 its buying swung hard. Here are the numbers, why China depends so heavily on imported oil, and why the 2026 pace fell to an eight-year low before recovering.\",\"date\":\"22\/08\/2026\",\"readTime\":\"7 min read\",\"author\":\"Project 54, Research & Strategy\"},\"quickAnswer\":{\"q\":\"How much oil does China import per day?\",\"a\":\"China imported an average of about 11.5 million barrels of crude oil a day in 2025, which makes it the world's largest crude importer. In 2026 the pace fell sharply, to roughly 7.8 to 8.1 million barrels a day in the second quarter, the lowest in more than eight years, after disruption around the Strait of Hormuz pushed prices up and cooled buying, before recovering to about 8.45 million barrels a day in July. China relies on imports for more than 70 percent of the oil it uses, because domestic production of about 4.3 million barrels a day cannot meet demand of roughly 16 to 17 million barrels a day.\"},\"takeaways\":[\"China is the world's largest crude oil importer, buying an average of about 11.5 million barrels a day in 2025.\",\"In 2026 imports dropped to an eight-year low, around 7.8 to 8.1 million barrels a day in the second quarter, after the Strait of Hormuz disruption lifted prices and cooled demand.\",\"Imports began recovering in July 2026, to about 8.45 million barrels a day, with analysts expecting a further rise of roughly 1.2 million barrels a day by the fourth quarter.\",\"China depends on imports for more than 70 percent of its oil, because domestic crude output of about 4.3 million barrels a day is far below demand of 16 to 17 million barrels a day.\",\"Because China is such a large buyer, a swing in its imports moves the whole global oil market.\"],\"sections\":[{\"id\":\"answer\",\"q\":\"How much oil does China import each day?\",\"h\":\"The world's largest crude buyer, with a volatile 2026\",\"p\":[\"China is the largest importer of crude oil in the world. Across 2025 it brought in an average of about 11.5 million barrels a day, according to customs and US Energy Information Administration data, close to a record pace as refiners ran hard and the country kept adding to its reserves.\",\"2026 broke that rhythm. China's crude imports fell to roughly 7.8 to 8.1 million barrels a day in the second quarter, the lowest level in more than eight years, and the General Administration of Customs put May at about 7.8 million barrels a day. The decline followed disruption around the Strait of Hormuz, which pushed prices higher and cooled buying from a country that had been importing at record levels only months earlier.\",\"The pace then began to recover. Combined pipeline and seaborne flows rose to about 8.45 million barrels a day in July 2026, and analysts expect imports to climb by roughly a further 1.2 million barrels a day in the fourth quarter as refiners hunt for cheaper supply, though the level is likely to stay below the pre-disruption peak.\"]},{\"id\":\"why\",\"q\":\"Why does China import so much oil?\",\"h\":\"Demand of about 16 million barrels a day, home output near 4\",\"p\":[\"China uses far more oil than it can produce. Its oil demand was forecast at about 16.7 million barrels a day for 2025, driven by refining, petrochemicals, transport, and a large export trade in refined fuels. Domestic crude production runs at only about 4.3 million barrels a day, or roughly 5.4 million including other petroleum liquids.\",\"That gap is why import dependence sits above 70 percent, a level analysts expect to persist through the current five-year plan. Every barrel China cannot pump at home it must buy abroad, mostly from Russia and Saudi Arabia, alongside other Gulf, African, and Latin American suppliers. Supply security is therefore central to Chinese energy policy, which is also why the country continues to build strategic and commercial storage.\"]},{\"id\":\"table\",\"q\":\"How did China's oil imports move through 2026?\",\"h\":\"From record pace to an eight-year low, then a rebound\",\"p\":[\"The table below sets out the swing. The headline is not just the level but the speed of the change, which is what makes Chinese buying such a powerful signal for global crude prices.\"],\"table\":{\"cols\":[\"Period\",\"China crude imports, million barrels a day\"],\"rows\":[[\"2025 average\",\"about 11.5\"],[\"Second quarter 2026\",\"about 7.8 to 8.1, an eight-year low\"],[\"July 2026\",\"about 8.45\"],[\"Fourth quarter 2026, expected\",\"up about 1.2 on the third quarter\"]]}}],\"media\":{\"image\":{\"src\":\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/28.jpg\",\"label\":\"An aerial view of a crude oil tank farm, the kind of storage that receives and buffers the millions of barrels a day China imports.\",\"credit\":\"Project 54\"},\"infographicLabel\":\"China crude imports: about 11.5 million barrels a day in 2025, falling to 7.8 to 8.1 million in Q2 2026 (an eight-year low), then about 8.45 million in July 2026. Demand near 16 to 17 million, home output about 4.3 million, import dependence above 70 percent.\"},\"poll\":{\"q\":\"What matters most about China's oil imports?\",\"options\":[{\"id\":\"a\",\"label\":\"The sheer scale\",\"insight\":\"At around 11.5 million barrels a day in 2025, China's buying sets the tone for the whole global crude market.\"},{\"id\":\"b\",\"label\":\"The 2026 collapse\",\"insight\":\"An eight-year import low shows how fast Chinese demand reacts to price and supply risk.\"},{\"id\":\"c\",\"label\":\"The 70 percent dependence\",\"insight\":\"Importing most of its oil is why supply security drives so much of China's energy strategy.\"},{\"id\":\"d\",\"label\":\"The rebound\",\"insight\":\"A recovering import pace signals refiners restocking and demand steadying into 2027.\"}],\"note\":\"The monthly number moves. The structural dependence on imported oil does not.\"},\"faq\":[{\"q\":\"Is China the world's largest oil importer?\",\"a\":\"Yes. China is the largest importer of crude oil in the world, bringing in an average of about 11.5 million barrels a day in 2025. Its imports fell to an eight-year low of roughly 7.8 to 8.1 million barrels a day in the second quarter of 2026 before recovering.\"},{\"q\":\"How much oil does China produce itself?\",\"a\":\"China produces about 4.3 million barrels a day of crude oil, or roughly 5.4 million barrels a day including other petroleum liquids. That covers less than a third of its demand, which is why it imports the rest.\"},{\"q\":\"Why did China's oil imports fall in 2026?\",\"a\":\"Imports dropped to an eight-year low in the second quarter of 2026 after disruption around the Strait of Hormuz pushed crude prices higher and cooled buying. Refiners also drew down inventories rather than importing at high prices. Imports began recovering from July as prices eased.\"},{\"q\":\"How much oil does China consume per day?\",\"a\":\"China's oil demand was forecast at about 16.7 million barrels a day for 2025, and total consumption sits in the range of roughly 16 to 17 million barrels a day, spanning transport, industry, petrochemicals, and refined-product exports.\"},{\"q\":\"Where does China import its oil from?\",\"a\":\"China's largest crude suppliers are Russia and Saudi Arabia, followed by other Gulf producers, Africa, and Latin America. Russia has been China's single biggest supplier in recent years, helped by discounted barrels.\"}],\"newsletter\":{\"copy\":\"Weekly analysis for energy marketers and sellers. No fluff, just what moves pipeline.\",\"cta\":\"Subscribe\",\"eyebrow\":\"P54 Energy Growth Brief\",\"title\":\"Energy B2B, engineered not assumed\"},\"related\":[{\"title\":\"How Much Oil Storage Capacity Does China Have?\",\"topic\":\"Oil Markets\",\"href\":\"https:\/\/projectfifty4.com\/china-oil-storage-capacity\/\"},{\"title\":\"Is China Still Stockpiling Oil in 2026?\",\"topic\":\"Oil Markets\",\"href\":\"https:\/\/projectfifty4.com\/is-china-still-stockpiling-oil-2026\/\"},{\"title\":\"Did China Stop Stockpiling Oil During the Hormuz Crisis?\",\"topic\":\"Oil Markets\",\"href\":\"https:\/\/projectfifty4.com\/did-china-stop-stockpiling-oil-hormuz-crisis\/\"},{\"title\":\"How Long Would China's Oil Reserves Last?\",\"topic\":\"Oil Markets\",\"href\":\"https:\/\/projectfifty4.com\/china-oil-reserve-days-of-supply\/\"}]}","p54_faq":"","p54_media":"","p54_comments_enabled":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[92,125],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-analysis","category-strategy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectfifty4.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectfifty4.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectfifty4.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectfifty4.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectfifty4.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/projectfifty4.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4131\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectfifty4.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectfifty4.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectfifty4.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}