China will cap its crude oil primary processing capacity at 1 billion metric tons by 2025 in an effort to streamline its vast refinery sector, the country's state planning agency said.

China's oil refining capacity expanded to 920 million tonnes per year, or 18.4 million barrels per day (bpd), in 2022, overtaking the United States as the world's largest.

The National Development and Reform Commission said it would strictly control new oil refining capacity, promote the upgrading and optimisation of refineries and accelerate the elimination of small and outdated plants, according to an Oct. 10 notice posted on its website on Wednesday.

Refineries with capacity of 10 million metric tons or more will account for 55% of capacity by 2025, the notice said, adding that China will also promote energy efficiency and strengthen carbon emission management in the oil refining industry.

China's crude oil throughput totalled 554.8 million tons in the January to September period, up 11.5% from the same period a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.