UPDATE 1-China's Dec crude imports up 5 pct on yr, off Nov peak

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* 2011 crude imports 5.08 mln bpd, +6 pct on yr

* 2011 net fuel imports +49 pct on yr

BEIJING, Jan 10 (Reuters) - China's crude oil imports in December rose five percent from a year earlier to 5.16 million barrels per day (bpd), easing off from November when imports hit their second-highest on record, preliminary customs data showed.

For the whole year, China brought in 253.78 million tonnes of crude oil, or about 5.08 million bpd, an increase of 6 percent over 2010.

China, the world's second-largest crude buyer after the United States, shipped in 21.92 million tonnes of crude in December, according to General Administration of Customs data published on its official website www.customs.gov.cn.

The amount, equivalent to 5.16 million bpd, was down from November's 5.52 million bpd.

Analysts have said China may consider beefing up crude oil stockpiling as new storage tanks started operations and amid supply concerns over Iran, China's third-largest crude supplier.

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China's preliminary Dec commodity trade data:

Factbox of refinery expansion:

Analysis of China's 2012 oil demand:

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China has started pumping oil into new reserve tanks in its landlocked northwest since September, in a move that is likely to bolster its imports.

An estimated 17 million barrels of crude oil, or a rough daily rate of 190,000 barrels, have flowed into both commercial and strategic tanks, recently completed in the remote Xinjiang region and Gansu province, industry sources have told Reuters.

China will reduce crude purchases from Iran by about 285,000 bpd in January and February, just over half of the total average daily it imported in 2011, as the two remain divided over payment terms for Iranian crude targeted by ever tougher international sanctions.

It has been scouring the globe for replacements, snapping up cargoes from the Middle East, Africa, Russia and Vietnam to replace lost Iranian oil supply.

The customs data also showed China's net imports of refined fuel rose 48 percent in December over November to 1.79 million tonnes, but off 13.5 percent versus a year-earlier.

For the whole of 2011, net fuel purchases rose 48.7 percent to 14.9 million tonnes.

(Tonne=7.3 bbls for crude conversion)

(Reporting by Judy Hua and Chen Aizhu; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

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