NEW YORK -- China, with its rising refining industry, has driven global oil demand as the COVID-19 pandemic slashed it, and is emerging in the global refining industry shift, according to the International Energy Agency.

Bloomberg quoted the agency as saying that as the demand for plastics and fuels grows in China and the rest of Asia, where economies are quickly rebounding from the pandemic, the refining capacity in China has been expanded. China's refiners are becoming a growing force in international markets for gasoline and diesel among other fuels, it said.

The agency predicted that as early as next year, China will surpass the United States that has been at the top of the refining pack since the start of the oil age in the mid-19th century.

China's commercial oil stockpiling sector bought large storage in 2020 and delivered big profits for operators, traders and refiners worldwide.