February 02, 2026 [Reuters]- Chinese state oil firm CNPC plans to restart a unit at its refinery in the northeastern city of Dalian, months after closing it, as it pursues big margins from processing discounted Russian oil, sources close to the matter said.
The unexpected decision will allow CNPC to resume purchases of seaborne Russian oil, which were halted in October, according to several of the 12 sources who spoke to Reuters.
It also demonstrates Beijing’s support for Moscow as the neighbouring nations said in November they would deepen energy cooperation.
PetroChina, the listed arm of CNPC, closed the 410,000 barrels per day Dalian Petrochemical refinery last July as part of plans to build a $10 billion complex on nearby Changxing Island in line with Beijing’s efforts to cut excess refining capacity and increase the focus on producing higher value petrochemicals.
THREE SOURCES SAY THE UNIT COULD RESTART AROUND MID-YEAR
The company is preparing to resume operations at the 200,000 barrels per day crude distillation unit, the trade and industry sources said. Three of the people said the CDU could restart around mid-year.
The sources declined to be identified as the plan is not public.
PetroChina and CNPC did not respond to requests seeking comment.
China’s National Development and Reform Commission, which had ordered the Dalian plant to be permanently shut, will have to endorse the restart, two of the people said.
The NDRC did not respond to a request for comment.
A MAJOR PROCESSOR OF RUSSIAN CRUDE
The Dalian refinery, once PetroChina’s largest and most profitable, was one of its largest processors of Russian crude. It handled ESPO Blend crude delivered via the 4,070-kilometre (2,529-mile) East Siberia-Pacific Ocean Pipeline.
It was not immediately clear if the Dalian plant will process Russian oil supplied via pipeline or by sea, the sources said.
China’s state energy firms stopped buying Russian cargoes after Washington imposed sanctions on Russia’s two biggest producers Rosneft and Lukoil in October.
One person familiar with CNPC’s plan said it will likely resume purchases of spot Russian cargoes in a couple of months’ time.
Another person briefed on the matter said that the refinery planned to process approximately six or seven million metric tons annually, the equivalent of 120,000 to 140,000 barrels per day, without specifying a duration of the operation.
Once reopened, Dalian could also process other grades considered cheap enough, one of the people added.
A gaping price spread – Russia’s flagship export grade ESPO blend at $11 a barrel cheaper than rival Brazilian oil – is hard to resist for any major Chinese refiner, trade sources said.
For CNPC, the considerations also included the ability to reinstate jobs for hundreds of workers that were made redundant by the Dalian plant’s closure, three of the sources said.
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