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China stockpiled huge amounts of oil before Iran war
Source: msn/Axios
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China has stashed away far more oil than any other country, according to U.S. government data released this week.
Why it matters: The stockpile, which surged last year, is emerging as a strategic advantage as the world faces an oil shock with the Strait of Hormuz largely shut.
The big picture: China is a huge winner in the Iran war due in large part to its positioning on energy, including its oil stockpile.
It also owns over 70% of global solar, wind, battery and electric vehicle supply chains. Those are all seeing a boost as import-dependent countries turn from oil and natural gas to renewables.
Between the lines: "The war was the stress test that Beijing's energy strategy was designed for," Axios co-founder and CEO Jim VandeHei wrote in a recent Behind the Curtain column on China.
Driving the news: China's stockpiling surged in 2025 due to several factors, according to a February paper from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies:
Relatively low oil prices tied to softer demand. Rising geopolitical risks, including disruptions tied to sanctions on major suppliers to China like Russia, Venezuela and Iran. A new domestic energy law that required companies to hold more reserves.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/china-stockpiled-huge-amounts-of-oil-before-iran-war/ar-AA21wQgh
Link to US EIA REPORT - China, the United States, and Japan hold most strategic oil inventories in 2025
8 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Setting: Early 2015. A gathering of representatives from countries that want to bring down the United States is having a regularly scheduled meeting at an undisclosed location. Agent X is a young representative at his first meeting.
Agent X: Why don’t we just insert someone into the presidency who will interfere with alternative energy development at every opportunity and then, influenced by his own vanity and hubris, start a war that disrupts a large percentage of the world’s oil supply?
Startled silence, followed by loud incredulous laughter.
Agent I: Nobody would be stupid enough to do that! (still laughing)
Agent C: Who let the whelp into this meeting? (shaking head in disbelief)
Agent R: (thick Russian accent) Wait—I know just the person.
Time jump to June 16, 2015:
Agent X: Why don’t we just insert someone into the presidency who will interfere with alternative energy development at every opportunity and then, influenced by his own vanity and hubris, start a war that disrupts a large percentage of the world’s oil supply?
Startled silence, followed by loud incredulous laughter.
Agent I: Nobody would be stupid enough to do that! (still laughing)
Agent C: Who let the whelp into this meeting? (shaking head in disbelief)
Agent R: (thick Russian accent) Wait—I know just the person.
Time jump to June 16, 2015:
There have been too many "coincidences" that just scream the obvious. They wouldn't trust anything Chump says or does, but when they get the nod from Netanyahu, they know it's the real truth about what's happening. I mean, Jared Kushner can't be everywhere at the same time, can he?
