China’s Oil Buying Pause Won’t Last Forever

China has been cited as an example of a country that has managed to insulate itself relatively well against oil crises. With over a billion barrels in estimated inventories before the war in the Middle East started, China was the poster child of forward planning in energy security. But this could change, and if it does, it would make an already severe crisis even worse. Kpler sounded the alarm about that prospect earlier this month, reporting that Chinese refiners have reduced their purchases of oil from overseas because of the price surge caused…