While Beijing lifted enhanced restrictions on oil shipments this month amid rising global oil prices and ample national reserves, it has also introduced compliance requirements for refiners — a precautionary measure aimed at protecting domestic reserves, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.
“With the interim agreement between Washington and Tehran collapsing, Beijing has taken a more cautious stance on easing restrictions on oil exports,” a person familiar with the matter said in an interview, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Refiners now face two demands: they can only export oil below the allocated quota, while keeping their inventory levels above the end-of-February mark. The security of domestic consumption remains a top priority.”
The latest export quotas – which include refined products including petrol, diesel and jet fuel – were mostly allocated to state-owned domestic refiners, the sources said.
Restrictions on oil exports were first introduced in March following the outbreak of US-Israel war against Iranalthough Beijing did not officially accept the sanctions. Fu Chengyu, former chairman of the National Offshore Oil Corporation of China and Sinopec, the country’s two largest state-owned oil companies, explained the details of the policy in an article published on July 14.
“Since the second quarter of 2026, China’s National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce have strengthened the supervision of refined oil exports,” Fu wrote in Energy Intelligence, an independent provider of energy information and data.
