中國“茶壺”煉油廠困境加深

China’s independent oil refiners face an uphill struggle as excess capacity in the sector and slower demand for fuel creates a tougher trading environment, a top executive has warned.

一名業(yè)內(nèi)高管警告稱，中國的獨立煉油廠面臨著一場苦撐，因為該行業(yè)的產(chǎn)能過剩和燃料需求放緩帶來了更為嚴(yán)峻的經(jīng)營環(huán)境。

Zhang Liucheng, vice-president of Shandong Dongming, said growing rivalries among so-called “teapot refiners”, as well as state-owned oil companies, had added to the sector’s financial struggles.

山東東明石化集團(tuán)(Shandong Dongming)副總裁張留成表示，所謂的“茶壺”煉油廠內(nèi)部以及它們與國有石油公司之間愈演愈烈的競爭，加劇了該行業(yè)的財務(wù)困境。

“Competition in China’s oil refinery industry is gradually intensifying,” said Mr Zhang, vice-president of Shandong Dongming, one of the leading teapots, on Wednesday. “We must strengthen our company,” he told the annual Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference in Singapore.

“中國煉油行業(yè)的競爭正在逐漸激化，”身為中國領(lǐng)先“茶壺”煉油廠之一副總裁的張留成周三表示，“我們必須加強(qiáng)我們的公司，”他在新加坡舉行的年度亞太石油會議(Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference)上告訴與會者。

Several teapots, most of which are in the eastern industrial heartland of Shandong, recently formed an alliance to co-ordinate production, sales, crude oil imports and investments. New entrants from elsewhere in China are also intensifying competition in the sector.

多家“茶壺”(大部分位于華東工業(yè)腹地山東省)最近結(jié)成一個聯(lián)盟，以協(xié)調(diào)生產(chǎn)、銷售、原油進(jìn)口和投資。中國其他地區(qū)的新進(jìn)入者也在加劇該行業(yè)的競爭。

“Unity will safeguard the interest of our industry,” said Mr Zhang, adding that the move aims to “enhance our bargaining power and reduce vicious competition”.

“團(tuán)結(jié)將會維護(hù)本行業(yè)的利益，”張留成表示。他補充說，此舉旨在“提升我們的議價能力，減少惡性競爭”。

Financial “inadequacies” as the independent refinery sector developed — from struggles to find capital to higher costs for crude procurement and logistics — has added to the forces stacked against the independents, he said.

他說，隨著獨立煉油行業(yè)的發(fā)展，財務(wù)上的“不足之處”(從難以找到資本，到原油采購和物流成本上漲)增加了獨立煉油企業(yè)面臨的不利因素。

Although these refineries are known as teapots they have become an important force in the industry, courted by international oil traders and big producer countries. Since they were granted crude import licences two years ago, they have exerted huge influence on the oil market and contribute around a quarter of China’s refining capacity.

雖然這些煉油廠被稱為“茶壺”，但它們已成為業(yè)內(nèi)的一股重要力量，受到國際石油貿(mào)易商和產(chǎn)油大國的追逐。自兩年前獲得原油進(jìn)口許可證以來，它們已經(jīng)對石油市場產(chǎn)生了巨大影響，并貢獻(xiàn)了中國四分之一左右的煉油產(chǎn)能。

Mr Zhang said demand growth for refined oil products was weakening, which put greater pressure on independent refineries. Petrol consumption growth in China has fallen from almost 12 per cent in 2014 to 3 per cent last year, Shandong Dongming data showed. Diesel has dropped from almost 1 per cent growth to a decline of 6 per cent.

張留成表示，成品油需求增長趨弱，對獨立煉油廠造成更大壓力。山東東明的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，中國汽油消費增速已從2014年的近12%，降至去年的3%。柴油已從近1%的增長降至減少6%。

At the end of 2016, China’s total oil refinery capacity exceeded 730m tonnes a year, or around 15m barrels a day, and surpasses China’s oil needs of around 12m b/d. Additional refining capacity is under construction and is expected to surpass 18m b/d in the next few years.

2016年底，中國煉油總產(chǎn)能超過每年7.3億噸，即約1500萬桶/日，超過中國約1200萬桶/日的石油需求量。更多的煉油產(chǎn)能正在建設(shè)中，預(yù)計未來幾年煉油總產(chǎn)能將超過1800萬桶/日。

Teapots were granted crude import licences to help China compensate for a slowdown in production from state-owned oilfields. By the end of 2016, 19 independent refineries had been granted import quotas totalling almost 1.5m b/d.

“茶壺”當(dāng)初被授予原油進(jìn)口許可證，是為了幫助中國彌補國有油田生產(chǎn)放緩。截至2016年底，已有19家獨立煉油廠獲得進(jìn)口配額，總計近150萬桶/日。

China, which is a big driver for global energy demand growth, has increased its imports of crude oil in recent years and is on pace to overtake the US in 2017. It took in an average 8.6m b/d between January and July.

中國是全球能源需求增長的主要驅(qū)動因素之一，近年原油進(jìn)口量有所增加，預(yù)計2017年將超過美國。中國在1月至7月期間原油進(jìn)口平均達(dá)到860萬桶/日。

As imports swelled so did production of refined products. Independent refiners often took on huge debts to compete with big state-owned oil groups such as PetroChina and Sinopec when selling fuel into the domestic market.

隨著進(jìn)口大量增加，精煉產(chǎn)品的產(chǎn)量也隨之增加。獨立煉油廠在向國內(nèi)市場銷售燃料時，經(jīng)常背上巨額債務(wù)，以求與中石油(PetroChina)和中石化(Sinopec)等大型國有石油集團(tuán)競爭。

The state has since tried to slow the energy sector liberalisation, shrinking the number of crude import quotas issued and cutting the amount of refined fuels these companies could export, trapping this output in China. This has also hurt teapots’ finances.

中國政府此后已試圖放慢能源行業(yè)放開的步伐，縮減了原油進(jìn)口配額，削減了這些企業(yè)的成品油出口配額，使這些產(chǎn)量困于國內(nèi)市場。這也傷害了“茶壺”的財務(wù)狀況。

It was imperative the Shandong refineries “cluster together” to become more robust, Mr Zhang said. “We want to be the best and strongest.”

張留成說，山東的各家煉油廠“抱團(tuán)”勢在必行，只有這樣才能變得更加強(qiáng)壯。“我們想成為最好和最強(qiáng)的。”