Since many countries have correspondences with Africa and want to buy bitumen from Africa,
we have decided to devote this article to this subject matter. As we all know, the global demand,
the economy, other countries’ situations, and most importantly China’s situation all affect the
ability and demand of countries to buy bitumen from Africa. That’s why we will discuss China’s
condition in order to discover its effects on the Africa bitumen and oil market.
According to Oil Price, optimistic figures of oil demand in China have caused oil prices to rise further. Generally speaking, the weaker US dollar pushed up oil prices recently. Traders also expect OPEC Plus to cut production by 1.15
million barrels per day in the near future. Besides, the rise in oil prices to more than $ 46 a
barrel was largely the result of production disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico due to twin storms. It’s important to know that the storms affected 84 percent of US oil production in the region.
Needless to mention that the impact of the disruption on oil supply to the markets has not been great as fuel reserves continue to rise. As the effects of the storm diminish,
British Petroleum is preparing to resume production in the Gulf of Mexico.As a matter of fact, China’s commitment to the first phase of a trade deal with the
United States will support oil prices. China’s oil demand rose 16.7 percent month-on-month to 14.16 million barrels per day in July,
reflecting the country’s economic recovery.
Additionally, China’s oil demand figures in July were even higher than last year. China’s oil and refining reserves,
which rose sharply during the fall in oil prices in the second quarter of this year, remain high and slow.
India believes that it will suspend imports of petroleum products from China,
meaning it will be difficult to find foreign buyers for surplus production from Chinese refineries. Earlier, Indian refineries stopped leasing Chinese-owned
tankers to transport oil and fuel as a result of border clashes between the two countries. On the other hand, China’s imports of US crude oil reached a record high last month
as a result of a trade deal between the two countries and will continue in August and September.
It’s worth mentioning that China has pledged $ 25.3 billion worth of US energy
products and currently imports just over $ 3 billion. To be more specific, the
United States is the fourth-largest supplier of crude oil to China, after Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Russia.
Finally, Saudi Arabia used to be China’s top exporter of crude oil, but OPEC Plus production cuts,
less commitment from Russia and Iraq to cut production and higher Aramco oil prices have affected China’s priorities for oil imports.