China has long planned for oil import flexibility by filling a huge (Billion barrel plus) oil stockpile. They also have lots of alternative energy and EVs. As a command economy they can cut refinery output and exports.
The scale is so large that China’s decisions impact worldwide oil prices. The article calls China “the OPEC of oil demand” because their demand decisions have so much impact.
Wendy
We might not want Gulf oil back on the market.
Our politics are more unspoken than spoken.
According to the Statistical Review of World Energy, China domestically produces about 4.3 million barrels of oil a day. However, China consumes 17.3 million barrels a day. Obviously, they rely on imports to a large extent. The following graph from the EIA shows the recent disruptions to China’s oil supply from the events in the Persian Gulf.
From the link:
Monthly data from China’s General Administration of Customs indicate that China imported just 8.1 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil in 2Q26, 32% less than the previous quarter. In May and June, imports fell below 8.0 million b/d for the first time since 2016.
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I don’t know all of the macroeconomic impacts from such a sudden and large decrease, but I’m guessing the net effect is not good.
_ Pete
That depends. Exxon just make $16 billion this last quarter. The US is shipping oil.
The ME is about 20% of global supply. Prices were low prior to this war. You’d think someone wants this war. The current supply seems to be enough, and now is finding its way into most markets efficiently.
Great news for fossil fuel reduction.
The new partnership between the US and its middle east green energy coalition continues.
Some call it quagmire, others call it our new militant green policy.
A joint navy and drone blockade of fossil fuel supply is a cause for celebration for green energy advocates.
The United States remains the world’s largest petroleum consumer, with daily demand averaging approximately 20.5 million barrels in 2025. This figure, while enormous, masks a structural plateau. US gasoline consumption peaked in 2018 and has declined gradually since, driven by fleet efficiency improvements and the electrification of light-duty transport. However, this decline has been offset by rising demand for jet fuel, diesel, and petrochemical feedstocks—the latter driven by the shale gas boom that made American ethane and propane among the cheapest chemical building blocks on the planet.
China occupies second place at roughly 16.5 million barrels per day, but the trajectory differs fundamentally. Chinese oil demand is still growing, albeit at a slower pace than the 2000s and early 2010s. The composition has shifted: passenger vehicle electrification is advancing rapidly, with EVs capturing over 40 percent of new car sales in 2025, but petrochemical demand continues to surge as China builds out its domestic plastics and synthetic fiber industries. The net result is that Chinese oil demand is becoming less transport-dependent and more industrial—harder to displace with batteries.
I don’t understand any part of that. Maybe you were just being sarcastic. I see no evidence any of the middle east countries want to stop pumping oil out of the ground. Sure, they try to limit how much is pumped, through OPEC policies. But those policies are there to keep the price up.
There has been some solar power development in the middle east, and that makes sense in those very sunny and hot countries. Also, the UAE, Egypt, and now Saudi Arabia have either built, are building, or are expected to soon start building some nuclear power plants. The way I look at it, they aren’t building those nuclear plants as a green gesture. They simply would rather sell their oil and gas than burn those fossil fuels to generate electricity. Fuel cost for a nuclear plant is less than for a fossil burner. Again, they would rather sell their oil than burn their oil.
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The atmospheric CO2 concentration is just going to keep rising, and there is very little anyone is going to do about it. The green policies, up until now, including the Kyoto Accords, the Paris Agreement, and other various minor agreements and goals, have generally been major failures.
_ Pete
You aren’t aware of blockades on fossil fuel shipments in the middle east and how that restricts supply and consumption of those fuels?
