中国“茶壶”炼油厂困境加深

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.

一名业内高管警告称，中国的独立炼油厂面临着一场苦撑，因为该行业的产能过剩和燃料需求放缓带来了更为严峻的经营环境。

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.

山东东明石化集团(Shandong Dongming)副总裁张留成表示，所谓的“茶壶”炼油厂内部以及它们与国有石油公司之间愈演愈烈的竞争，加剧了该行业的财务困境。

“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.

“中国炼油行业的竞争正在逐渐激化，”身为中国领先“茶壶”炼油厂之一副总裁的张留成周三表示，“我们必须加强我们的公司，”他在新加坡举行的年度亚太石油会议(Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference)上告诉与会者。

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“茶壶”(大部分位于华东工业腹地山东省)最近结成一个联盟，以协调生产、销售、原油进口和投资。中国其他地区的新进入者也在加剧该行业的竞争。

“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”.

“团结将会维护本行业的利益，”张留成表示。他补充说，此举旨在“提升我们的议价能力，减少恶性竞争”。

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.

他说，随着独立炼油行业的发展，财务上的“不足之处”(从难以找到资本，到原油采购和物流成本上涨)增加了独立炼油企业面临的不利因素。

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.

虽然这些炼油厂被称为“茶壶”，但它们已成为业内的一股重要力量，受到国际石油贸易商和产油大国的追逐。自两年前获得原油进口许可证以来，它们已经对石油市场产生了巨大影响，并贡献了中国四分之一左右的炼油产能。

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.

张留成表示，成品油需求增长趋弱，对独立炼油厂造成更大压力。山东东明的数据显示，中国汽油消费增速已从2014年的近12%，降至去年的3%。柴油已从近1%的增长降至减少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，中国炼油总产能超过每年7.3亿吨，即约1500万桶/日，超过中国约1200万桶/日的石油需求量。更多的炼油产能正在建设中，预计未来几年炼油总产能将超过1800万桶/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.

“茶壶”当初被授予原油进口许可证，是为了帮助中国弥补国有油田生产放缓。截至2016年底，已有19家独立炼油厂获得进口配额，总计近150万桶/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.

中国是全球能源需求增长的主要驱动因素之一，近年原油进口量有所增加，预计2017年将超过美国。中国在1月至7月期间原油进口平均达到860万桶/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.

随着进口大量增加，精炼产品的产量也随之增加。独立炼油厂在向国内市场销售燃料时，经常背上巨额债务，以求与中石油(PetroChina)和中石化(Sinopec)等大型国有石油集团竞争。

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.

中国政府此后已试图放慢能源行业放开的步伐，缩减了原油进口配额，削减了这些企业的成品油出口配额，使这些产量困于国内市场。这也伤害了“茶壶”的财务状况。

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

张留成说，山东的各家炼油厂“抱团”势在必行，只有这样才能变得更加强壮。“我们想成为最好和最强的。”