China Begins Tapping Oil Stockpiles as Middle East Crisis Drags On

China began tapping its huge oil reserves in May, three months after the Middle East conflict wiped out about a tenth of global supply, in a sign that Beijing is still refraining from paying top-dollar for prompt crude deliveries.

Over the next few months, China is expected to draw an average of about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from its massive oil stockpiles, according to estimates by energy consultants and energy flow-tracking firms Energy Aspects, Kpler, and Vortexa cited by Bloomberg.

China is the world’s top crude importer, but…