China's Oil Imports Climb Above 7m Barrels a Day For First Time In December

Following up on Jan. 5's "Saudis Seen Giving Asia Smaller Oil Discounts on Signs of Demand" (FRO):

China demand held up in November as Chinese leadership took the opportunity to stock the national petroleum reserve at lower prices.
(no word on the inventory status of the strategic pork reserve)
Major tanker operator Frontline Ltd. gives thanks:

Brent $46.05 down 2.91%; WTI 45.43 down 1.39%. That spread between the two flavors is about as small as I can remember recently.
From the Financial Times:

China’s crude oil imports rose above 7m barrels per day for the first time in December, reaching record levels as plunging international prices allowed the world’s largest importer to fill strategic and commercial reserves.

International crude prices are near six-year lows, revisiting levels last seen in the wake of the global financial crisis. While price controls over transport fuels limit the boost to the Chinese economy, the drop has presented an unusual opportunity for China to increase reserves of crude oil at relatively little cost.

China imported 7.15m bpd in December, bringing its full-year crude imports to a record 308m tonnes, or 2.25bn barrels — up nearly 10 per cent on the year. Some of that additional demand reflects economic growth and new refineries coming on line but most is probably going into tank farms, according to market watchers.

Over the course 2014 Chinese crude imports averaged 6.2m b/d, up 530,000 b/d or 9.6 per cent on 2013, when the growth rate was 5 per cent.

China is the world’s biggest oil importer and its strategic reserve programme has long been a matter of conjecture, although the country has pledged greater transparency over its stock builds. In November, Beijing announced for the first time the status of the first phase of commercial storage facilities, but the pace at which the second and third phases are being completed and filled was not announced. 

New commercial storage facilities plus an estimated 101m barrels of new strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) operated by the country’s three state oil companies will lift China’s crude demand by about 150,000 b/d in 2015, according to estimates by Argus Media. In 2014, China is reckoned to have added 100m barrels to its stockpiles....MUCH MORE

China's oil imports climb above 7m barrels a day for first time

That Frontline chart is almost ridiculous: