Investment by buyers on new refining units to replenish low inventories, could see China's crude oil imports recover by 6-7% in 2022, according to analysts and oil company heads.

China’s robust demand for oil imports, which accounts for a tenth of the global crude trade, would help strengthen global oil prices, keeping supplies tight amid forecasts for a jump in crude prices to $100 a barrel or more.

However, the demand recovery will not come about before the middle of 22 as China battles COVID-19 outbreaks and limit production by smaller refiners.

Analysts predict that crude oil imports into China in 2022 look set to grow by 600,000-700,000 barrels per day (bpd), offsetting last year's 590,000 bpd fall to match or beat 2020's record volume of 10.85 million bpd.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate futures are already at 7-year highs near $90 a barrel as investors look beyond the demand hit from the Omicron variant.

Prices this year gained about 15% amid geopolitical tensions between Russia, the world's second-largest oil producer and a key natural gas provider to Europe, and the West over Ukraine as well as threats to the United Arab Emirates from Yemen's Houthi movement that have raised concerns about energy supply.