China’s Oil Boomtown Braces for Crackdown From Beijing

  • Coastal city of Panjin emerges as key focus of investigation
  • Crackdown on teapots may benefit China’s largest refiners
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
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The future of China’s vast oil-refining industry may hinge on what government investigators find in the small seaside city of Panjin.

This little-known energy hub about 300 miles east of Beijing has emerged as the focal point of a probe that industry insiders say could shift the balance of power from the private sector to the state.