中国去年12月的原油进口量首次突破每日700万桶，达到创纪录水平，全球最大石油进口国借国际油价大幅下降之机充实战略和商业储备。
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.
国际原油价格目前接近6年低点，回落至全球金融危机之后跌入的低谷。尽管针对运输燃料的价格管制限制了中国经济得到的提振效果，但油价下跌带来了不寻常的机会，让中国以相对较小的代价增加原油储备。
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.
12月，中国的石油进口量达到每日715万桶，使全年原油进口量达到创纪录的3.08亿吨，同比增长近10%。市场观察人士表示，一部分新增需求反映了经济增长和新的炼油厂陆续投产，但大部分额外进口很可能进入了储备基地的油罐。
China imported 7.15m bpd in December, bringing its full-year crude imports to a record 308m tonnes, 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, say market watchers.
2014年期间，中国原油进口量平均为每日620万桶，比2013年日进口量增加53万桶，增幅9.6%（2013年的同比增幅为5%）。
Over the course of 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.
中国是世界最大的石油进口国，其战略石油储备计划一直是外界猜测对象，尽管中国已承诺提高有关储备量的透明度。
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.
去年11月，北京方面首次公布国家石油储备一期工程的情况，但没有说明二期和三期工程的建设或注油进度。
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.
根据能源数据公司阿格斯传媒(Argus Media)的估计，新建的商业储备设施，加上三家国有石油公司运行的估计1.01亿桶的新建战略石油储备(SPR)，将使2015年中国原油需求提升大约每日15万桶。据估计，2014年期间中国增加了1亿桶石油储备。
New commercial storage facilities plus an estimated 101m barrels of new strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) operated by the three state oil companies will lift China’s crude demand by about 150,000 b/d in 2015, according to Argus Media estimates. In 2014, China is reckoned to have added 100m barrels to its stockpiles.
分析师此前就预计12月份原油进口量会大幅增长，因为随着油价崩盘提速，中方从10月份加快了购买步伐。
Analysts had expected a jump in December crude imports because Chinese buying accelerated in October as the oil price rout gathered pace.
中国石油天然气集团公司(CNPC)下属的贸易公司——中联油(Chinaoil)掀起一股购买狂潮，趁着全球油价暴跌，大举买入数以百万桶计的中东原油。
Chinaoil, the trading arm of China National Petroleum Corporation, went on a huge buying spree, snapping up millions of barrels of Middle East crude as global oil prices slumped.
该公司买下2000余万桶迪拜(Dubai)、阿曼(Oman)和上扎库姆(Upper Zakum)的原油，其中有很多货来自中国国有石油公司中石化(Sinopec)的子公司联合石化(Unipec)。大部分货物已在12月交付。
It bought more than 20m barrels of Dubai, Oman and Upper Zakum grades — many of them from Unipec, the subsidiary of Chinese state oil company Sinopec. Most of these cargoes arrived in December.
“12月进口量的增加也反映在开往中国的超大型油轮的数量上，这个数字从9月底开始大幅上升，在11月达到平均76艘的新高，”咨询机构Energy Aspects的首席石油分析师阿姆里塔•森(Amrita Sen)表示。
“The increase in December imports is also mirrored in the number of very large crude carriers heading to China, which picked up sharply from end-September, averaging a record high 76 in November,” said Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at Energy Aspects, a consultancy.
汇丰(HSBC)常驻香港的亚洲石油和天然气分析师托马斯•希尔伯特(Thomas Hilboldt)告诫称，中国的月度进口数据可能比较波动，但季度数据往往显示出比较平稳的上升态势。“1月份的数据会同样令人吃惊、成为头条新闻吗？从概率来看不会这样。你总得在某个时候消化掉那么多石油。”
Chinese import data can be “lumpy” on a monthly basis but tend to rise more smoothly on a quarterly basis, cautions Thomas Hilboldt, Asian oil and gas analyst with HSBC in Hong Kong. “Will the January numbers be as shockingly headline-generating? The probability is not. You have to absorb it at some point.”