China played a decisive role in stabilising global oil prices in 2025 by ramping up crude stockpiling and absorbing excess supply from the international market.
Despite easing OPEC+ production cuts, rising output from the Americas, and steady flows of sanctioned crude from Iran, Russia, and Venezuela, oil prices avoided a sharp downturn. Instead, global benchmarks hovered around $60 per barrel for much of the year, supported in part by China’s aggressive buying.
Market data suggest Beijing viewed prices in the $60 range as attractive. As a result, it imported more crude than it immediately needed and diverted the excess into commercial and strategic storage.
Record Imports Despite Weak Domestic Demand
China’s crude imports reached an all-time high in 2025, despite domestic fuel demand remaining subdued and parts of the economy struggling under shifting U.S. trade policies and broader market volatility.
The surge in imports reflected a strategic decision rather than consumption growth. With expanding storage capacity and falling official selling prices for Middle Eastern crude, China increased purchases whenever prices stayed below its preferred threshold.
Analysts note that China tends to slow stockbuilding once oil prices climb into the high $70s or $80s per barrel. However, with prices anchored well below that range, buying activity accelerated throughout the year.
In total, China imported an average of 11.55 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2025, a 4.4 per cent increase from 2024. December imports alone hit a record 13.18 million bpd.
December Stockpiling Reached Multi-Year High
China’s crude hoarding peaked in December 2025, marking its fastest monthly stock build since June 2020, when the COVID-19 shock crushed global oil demand.
Because China does not publish official inventory data, analysts estimate stockpiling by comparing total crude supply with refinery processing rates. The gap between the two indicates how much oil flows into storage.
Using this method, analysts estimate China stockpiled crude at a rate of about 2.67 million bpd in December, up sharply from 1.88 million bpd in November. The buildup capped a trend that began in March and April, when imports rose despite weak refinery runs.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration also highlighted China’s inventory growth as a key factor supporting prices. Between January and August 2025, China added roughly 900,000 bpd to crude inventories, effectively removing barrels from the global market.
Stockbuilding to Shape Oil Market in 2026
Looking ahead, analysts expect China’s stockpiling strategy to remain a major force in the oil market this year.
According to Kpler, crude stockbuilding ranked among the most important sources of oil demand in 2025 and will continue to stabilise prices in 2026 alongside geopolitics, sanctioned supply, U.S. output trends, and OPEC+ policy decisions.
Kpler estimates that China added 32 million barrels of new storage capacity last year and plans to expand onshore storage by another 94 million barrels in 2026. If utilisation rises to around 60 per cent, China could add as much as 170 million barrels to storage this year—equivalent to nearly 500,000 bpd.
That volume would absorb a significant share of the projected 1.8 million bpd global surplus for 2026, helping to limit downside risks to prices.
Analysts say China may not drive oil demand growth through consumption, but its willingness to stockpile during periods of oversupply could once again position it as the oil market’s shock absorber.