China Hit With Oil Shortages

China Hit With Oil Shortages
Motorcyclists queue to buy fuel at a petrol station on June 6, 2008 in Shanghai, China. Most gas stations in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou were flooded with cars and motorcycles as rumors went out that fuel price were to be increased. (China Photos/Getty Images)
8/23/2005
Updated:
8/25/2015

Oil shortages have been crippling China’s Guangdong province for over a month. Now other regions in China have begun to also suffer from a lack of fuel, marking the beginning of what could very well become a nationwide oil shortage.

Starting in late July, China’s Guangdong province began to suffer from oil shortages. Although the government claimed the crisis would be solved within a few days, the shortage of refined oil supply in Guangdong has only continued to intensify. Outside of closed local petrol stations are signs of “no petrol.” In Shenzhen City, 128 petrol stations were closed. Those that have stayed open have done so for a price: Petrol prices increased from 4.7yuan per liter to 7 to 8 yuan per liter.

In mid-August in Heilongjiang province, vehicles began having to wait in long lines for fuel as the province was also hit with oil shortages. In Qingdao City, many petrol stations have had to limit their fuel supply—it is estimated that 50% of the petrol station do not have regular fuel supplies.

Oil shortages have also begun to appear in other regions such as Yunnan province, Beijing and Shanghai, suggesting the possibility that China may soon be in the midst of a nationwide oil shortage.

Experts and analysts say that recent typhoons on China’s southeast coast preventing oil ships from docking coupled with the increase in international oil prices have contributed to the crisis. Oil prices have already been rising due to the long-standing monopoly the government has had over the country’s supply and processing of refined oil.