China’s Sinopec asked the government for an additional 800,000 tons of export quota for clean refined products as a surplus of oil products in the domestic market has boosted stockpiles at Chinese refineries, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.

• The request is part of a swap agreement involving an exchange of previously issued low-sulfur fuel oil quotas, said the people.
• Chinese gasoline demand is declining amid winter, while prolonged weakness in the industrial and property sectors is also weighing on diesel consumption.
• The country’s refiners have been cutting run rates as profit margins have fallen, and the request for more quota signals demand may be deteriorating further.
• Chinese refiners are expected to process 15.1mbpd in November, down from 15.37mbpd in October, FGE said early this month.