LONDON: A Sinopec Corp -operated refinery in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin resumed exporting diesel this month after a five-month halt following massive explosions in the port area, a Sinopec-run industry paper reported.
Sinopec’s unit, Tianjin Petrochemical Corp, loaded 26,800 tonnes (200,000 barrels) of diesel in early February for export, the first such shipment since last August after the blasts led to a halt in fuel exports as the government tightened safety measures, China Petrochemical News said.
In August, two huge explosions had ripped through an industrial area in Tianjin where toxic chemicals and gas were stored, killing at least 50 people. China has been exporting an increasing amount of diesel as refinery production has outpaced slowing domestic consumption of the industrial and transportation fuel.
Total diesel exports rose 75 percent in 2015 to nearly 7.2 million tonnes, official customs data shows. Sinopec, the country’s top refiner, makes up roughly 60 percent of China’s total exports of the fuel.
