SINOPEC Corp said its diesel inventory has surged 93 percent from late last year to a record high as Asia's top refiner boosted crude oil processing to help fight widespread drought in the central and north China.

The company's crude throughput in January rose 7.2 percent from a year earlier and 3.7 percent from December, it said today. Sinopec plans to increase February throughput by another 2.4 percent from January.

It didn't reveal volume figures of either crude runs or diesel stocks.

The worst drought in several decades has hit grain-producing provinces of Jiangsu, Henan and Shandong, fueling a big demand for diesel to power irrigation equipment.

China's net crude oil imports rose to 21.5 million tons in January, the highest since last September, as demand for diesel rose, data from the General Administration of Customs showed today.