China sets new records in refinery throughput and crude output in 2025

China’s refinery throughput in 2025 rose 4.1 per cent year on year, while crude oil output grew 1.5 per cent, both all-time highs, government data showed on Monday.

The world’s second-largest oil consumer processed 737.59 million tons of crude oil in 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

That is the equivalent of about 14.75 million barrels a day (bpd), Reuters calculations showed, exceeding the previous record of 14.7 million bpd, set in 2023.

“Chinese refining runs on average grew by 0.25 million barrels per day year on year in 2025, driven by capacity expansion among national oil companies and the ramp-up of the private mega Yulong refinery,” said Jianan Sun, an analyst at consultancy Energy Aspects.

Energy Aspects expects runs at small refineries, known as teapots, to remain resilient, while the start-up of Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Company will continue to support Chinese runs this year, rising by about 250,000 bpd.