China’s four-week-long diesel shortage continues to spread across the map, moving further north into the Beijing area like a stain. With diesel shortages in neighboring provinces, more and more truckers are heading to Beijing to refuel, leading to shortages and rationing in the city’s suburbs.

Stations located on main roads in suburban areas are rationing diesel supply to 200 yuan per vehicle per time. Sinopec, one of the two biggest of China’s oil companies, declared that the problem was caused by unexpectedly large volume and delivery delays in some single stations, and that rationing was a short-term solution since the shortage problem would soon be resolved.


PetroChina, the other China oil heavy, weighed in with a similar explanation, saying that the tight diesel supply in neighboring provinces was forcing many vehicles to seek refueling in Beijing, which had not hitherto been affected by the problem, leading to an unexpected increase in diesel sales and disorder in diesel delivery. It went on to say that rationing did exist at some of its stations, located mainly on major highways in Beijing suburbs. To ensure continuous diesel supply, these stations had to temporarily control sales and quickly apply to the company for more diesel.

Sinopec and PetroChina stations in eight urban districts are not rationing diesel, but some stations in suburban areas, such as Tongzhou, Changping and Yanqing Districts, are having to.