China’s Energy Security Push Pays Off as War Roils Refiners

China’s vast reserves of crude oil are giving its refiners breathing space as war in the Middle East roils production and shipping — a payoff from years of stockpiling and diversifying supply.

With a record 851 million barrels in onshore commercial inventories, refiners have room to draw down stocks as a cushion against disruptions, a stark contrast to harder-hit Asian countries from Japan to Thailand, where feedstock shortages have forced some plants to declare force majeure on product deliveries.