16.08.2023, 14:56
China has bought record oil from a competitor of Russia
Source: OREANDA-NEWS
OREANDA-NEWS In August, China increased purchases of Iranian oil to 1.5 million barrels per day, which was a record for at least 10 years, Bloomberg writes, citing data from the analytical company Kpler.
For comparison, in the first seven months of the year, China imported an average of 917 thousand barrels of Iranian oil per day. But since the end of June, the value of the benchmark Brent brand has risen by one fifth, so China, the largest importer of oil, began to increase purchases of raw materials sold at a discount.
According to traders, the two main Iranian grades are now trading at a discount of more than $ 10 per barrel against Brent. In addition, the prices of Iranian manufacturers are much lower than those of their competitors from Russia.
According to Homayun Falakshahi, a senior analyst at Kpler oil markets, in order to avoid US sanctions, Iranian oil is often recorded in Chinese government data as coming from Malaysia. In addition, some independent refineries from Shandong province may "disguise" it as a bitumen mixture in order not to spend their quota on oil imports.
In April, the Chinese government launched an investigation into the import of raw materials in Shandong Province, and for a while it became more difficult for local refineries to purchase sub-sanctioned oil from Iran and Venezuela. However, according to traders, control in this regard has recently been weakened.
In calculating the volume of Chinese imports of Iranian oil, one can rely only on data from independent data providers such as Kpler and Vortexa, since these purchases are not included in the customs statistics of the PRC — according to it, oil imports from Iran stopped in June 2022.
Earlier, the Ministry of Finance reported that the average cost of the main Russian export grade of Urals oil in the period from July 15 to August 14 amounted to $ 70.33 per barrel — more than $ 12 more than a month earlier. The discount to the Brent reference grade decreased to $13.9.
For comparison, in the first seven months of the year, China imported an average of 917 thousand barrels of Iranian oil per day. But since the end of June, the value of the benchmark Brent brand has risen by one fifth, so China, the largest importer of oil, began to increase purchases of raw materials sold at a discount.
According to traders, the two main Iranian grades are now trading at a discount of more than $ 10 per barrel against Brent. In addition, the prices of Iranian manufacturers are much lower than those of their competitors from Russia.
According to Homayun Falakshahi, a senior analyst at Kpler oil markets, in order to avoid US sanctions, Iranian oil is often recorded in Chinese government data as coming from Malaysia. In addition, some independent refineries from Shandong province may "disguise" it as a bitumen mixture in order not to spend their quota on oil imports.
In April, the Chinese government launched an investigation into the import of raw materials in Shandong Province, and for a while it became more difficult for local refineries to purchase sub-sanctioned oil from Iran and Venezuela. However, according to traders, control in this regard has recently been weakened.
In calculating the volume of Chinese imports of Iranian oil, one can rely only on data from independent data providers such as Kpler and Vortexa, since these purchases are not included in the customs statistics of the PRC — according to it, oil imports from Iran stopped in June 2022.
Earlier, the Ministry of Finance reported that the average cost of the main Russian export grade of Urals oil in the period from July 15 to August 14 amounted to $ 70.33 per barrel — more than $ 12 more than a month earlier. The discount to the Brent reference grade decreased to $13.9.
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