China Teapots Diversify Amid Iranian Oil Crunch
China's independent refiners are shifting their focus away from Iranian crude oil as the US blockade continues to squeeze supply. According to preliminary data by Kpler, China imported an estimated 534,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude in August, down from 823,000 bpd in July.
The dwindling availability of Iranian crude cargoes has left Chinese refiners in search of alternatives. With the US blockade effectively crippling Iranian supply, analysts predict that Chinese teapots will need to step up purchases of alternative feedstocks or risk cutting throughput.
Sun Jianan, a senior oil analyst at Energy Aspects, notes that Chinese refiners are now looking beyond Russia and Iran. Muyu Xu, senior crude analyst at Kpler, warns that 'Chinese teapots will need to step up purchases of alternative feedstocks... or risk cutting throughput in October when their inventories run thin.'