PetroChina plans to reduce its planned crude throughput by 320,000 barrels per day (bpd) this month as the new coronavirus hits fuel demand, an official at China’s second-biggest state refiner told Reuters.

The February cut is equivalent to about 10 per cent of its average production rate of around 3.32 million bpd.

It will bring total production cuts by state refiners, including Sinopec Corp and China National Offshore Oil Company, to around 940,000 bpd this month.

PetroChina’s cut is likely to deepen to 377,000 bpd in March, said the senior company official with direct knowledge of the matter. He declined to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Reuters reported last week that Sinopec Corp, Asia’s largest refiner, is cutting its throughput this month by 600,000 bpd, or 12 per cent of its average crude runs, its deepest reduction in more than a decade.

Independent Chinese refiners in Shandong have slashed output to below half of their capacity.

“The production cuts are mostly at refineries in northeast and north China, where demand is being hit harder than in the western parts of the country,” the PetroChina official said.

PetroChina started reducing production at the beginning of the month but deepened its cuts on Monday, the official said.

PetroChina did not respond to a request for comment.

The state oil major is talking with its key long-term suppliers such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates about possibly deferring cargo loadings or trimming loading volumes, the official said, without giving further details.

Reuters