/Agencia Reuters
Las refinerías estatales de China están considerando reanudar las compras de petróleo iraní.
However, the competition from alternative supplies and the drop in domestic fuel demand will moderate their interest, several industry sources said.
Any acquisition that takes place would be the first since 2019, the year Sinopec and PetroChina bought Iranian crude shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions on Tehran’s oil exports during his first term.
PetroChina and Sinopec are analyzing the banking, insurance, and shipping factors needed to resume their operations with Iran, three of the sources said, who are officials at Chinese state oil companies speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
The decision comes after the exemption granted by the United States on Monday, June 22, which allows global customers to buy Iranian oil and petrochemical products, as well as settle transactions in U.S. dollars, following the memorandum of understanding signed last week that ended the U.S. and Israel war against Iran.
“Let’s see who dares to be the first to taste the crab,” commented one of the three sources, using a Chinese idiom referring to the first person to take a risk on something new.
Likewise, the source highlighted that there is no shortage of crude, given that exports from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq are increasing.
It is also unclear which banks could provide financing and compensation for the operations, nor whether Iran has the shipping capacity to deliver the cargoes, the source added.
Asian refineries, including Chinese ones, are well supplied despite the supply disruptions from the Middle East caused by the war, thanks to securing cargoes from West Africa, Brazil, and Russia.
Shipments from Gulf suppliers in the Middle East are expected to rebound with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz under the provisional peace agreement.
Iranian oil loadings accelerated to around 1.6 million barrels per day between June 19 and 24, up from 340,000 barrels per day during the first 18 days of June and 370,000 barrels per day in May, according to tanker tracking firm Vortexa.
It is also unlikely that state-owned companies will resume buying Iranian crude due to tepid domestic demand, a second state oil official said, as declines in Chinese consumption of fuel and petrochemical products have exceeded recent cuts in crude imports and processing at the country’s refineries.
For now, Chinese independent refineries, known as teapots, remain the main buyers of Iranian crude, operating through a group of little-known intermediaries and settling most of their purchases in Chinese yuan.
Among the major state oil companies, Sinopec could emerge as the most willing buyer, as this refinery
-que alguna vez fue el mayor cliente individual de Teherán- ha enfrentado recortes más profundos en su suministro de crudo y necesita reponer inventarios tras haber tenido que recurrir a sus reservas comerciales desde mayo, señalaron dos de las tres fuentes chinas.
Sinopec realizó consultas a la National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) sobre posibles compras bajo la exención previa de 30 días en marzo, antes de decidir descartarlas debido a que el margen de tiempo era demasiado estrecho para concretar una transacción, afirmó un funcionario del sector cercano a la compañía iraní.
La NIOC, que cuenta con equipos de comercialización tanto en Pekín como en Shanghái, prevé un renovado interés por parte de las refinerías estatales en los próximos días, añadió el funcionario.
NIOC será la única parte contractual para el petróleo bajo la exención y la mezcla ESPO, el principal tipo de crudo de exportación de Rusia, se utilizará como referencia de precios para las discusiones de posibles nuevos acuerdos, añadió el funcionario.
