China’s imports of Iranian oil are poised to reach a record 1.75m b/d this month, data from Kpler show.
That will surpass the previous peak of 1.66m b/d set in October 2023, according to Kpler data that extends back to January 2013, and is almost 50% higher compared with 1.24m b/d last month.
Shipments into Rizhao and Dalian significantly higher m/m, said Muyu Xu, an analyst with Kpler
“Chinese teapots see refining margins slightly improving, they now have stronger motivation to ramp up production and therefore need more feedstock,” she said.
Flows into Lanqiao/Rizhao and Dalian almost doubled m/m to 342k b/d and 132k b/d, respectively.
We got an advance look at China's record appetite for Iranian oil last week when Bloomberg reported that China imported a record volume of crude from Malaysia last month, pointing to a renewed appetite for cheaper Iranian oil as refiners grapple with lower margins due to an economic slowdown.
The world’s biggest crude importer took 6.21 million tons from Malaysia in July, the equivalent to 1.47 million barrels a day, or almost triple the average daily production from the Southeast Asian nation over the course of 2023.
Why is this a key leading indicator? Because the seas off Malaysia have long been a hub for transferring crude and oil products from one tanker to another, meant to mask the country of origin, especially from Iran. Officially, China hasn’t purchased Iranian barrels since June 2022, according to government data. Unofficially, it is buying record amounts.
Oil from Iran - which once upon a time the US pretended to sanction - has become the cheapest option for Chinese buyers, even more than Russia, and more independent refiners are seeking barrels from the OPEC producer to boost their margins, said traders who participate in the market. Iranian Light was last offered at a discount of $6 a barrel to ICE Brent, they added, compared with a discount of less than a $1 for comparable crude from Russia.
Importers registered in China’s Shandong province were the biggest buyers of Iranian crude - masking as Malaysian - accounting for over 70% of the volume, according to customs data. Overall, eight Chinese regions including Liaoning and Henan took oil from the Southeast Asian nation, the most since October 2023.
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By Zerohedge.com
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Therefore, it doesn't need to circumvent US sanctions when buying Iranian or Russian or Venezuelan crude oil. It buys it openly.
If Chinese imports of Iranian oil are set to reach a record 1.75 million barrels a day (mbd) this month which is a record, then it is very probable that Iran must be offering China cheaper crude than what Russia is offering. If this is the case, then this proves the lies peddled by Western dis-information media and the contradictions among these lies.
1- If despite sanctions Iran could sell 1.75 mbd this month, it proves that global oil demand is robust.
2- That India has overtaken China's imports of Russian crude imports in August was due to China reducing its imports of Russian crude in favour of a better price discount from Iran and not due to weakening demand as Western disinformation media has been reporting day after day.
3-Western disinformation media attributed a reduction in Chinese refiners crude imports to a slowdown in China's economy. Now it is telling us that their Chinese refiners' imports are surging driven by refiners seeking cheaper feedstock.
Dr Mamdouh G Salameh
International Oil Economist
Global Energy Exert