China has set crude oil import quota for non-state-owned firms at 257 million metric tons (5.14 million barrels per day) for 2025, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday.

The figure is higher than the 243 million tons quota set by the world’s largest oil importer for this year.

The increase comes as China’s newest refiner Shandong Yulong Petrochemical started one of its two 200,000-barrels-per-day crude units in late September. The independent refiner requires crude import quota to buy oil.

The first batch of import quotas will be given to the qualified applicants by 2024-end. Later, the ministry will add and adjust quotas based on companies’ demand and new capacity, according to a statement from the commerce ministry.

Companies with no import record in recent two years will not be granted any quotas, the ministry said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Siyi Liu and Florence Tan in Singapore; Additional reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Subhranshu Sahu)