Article content
MOSCOW — China doubled its purchases of Urals oil in the first half of February compared to the same period of January amid more attractive pricing and as Chinese demand rebounds after COVID-related lockdowns, according to traders and Refinitiv Eikon data.
Urals oil supplies to China are rising as freight rates soften and the Brent-Dubai spread narrows, making Brent-related Urals oil more competitive compared to Dubai-related grades in Asian markets, traders said.
Article content
China and India are buying at deep discounts amid Western sanctions on Russian oil and more recently, embargoes and price caps.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Traders said that Chinese companies are becoming more active in the Urals market as business in China rebounds from COVID-related lockdowns last year.
About 0.8 million tonnes of Urals oil loading from Russian ports during Feb. 1-15 are heading to China compared to some 0.4 million tonnes of the grade during the same period of January, according to traders and Refinitiv Eikon data.
“Buyers from China are getting more and more active, competing more with Indian refineries,” one of the traders said adding that this may support prices for March-loading Urals oil.
Chinese refiners buy Urals oil straight from the Russian ports or from ship-to-ship (STS) facilities in the Mediterranean or elsewhere, traders said. Some of the ships are initially heading to Singapore, but will most likely end their voyage in Chinese ports, one of the traders said.
Advertisement 3
Article content
India still remains a leader in Urals oil purchases: about 1.5 million tonnes of Urals oil loading in the first half of February are heading to Indian ports. During the first half of January India received about 1.9 million tonnes of seaborne Urals oil, according to Refinitiv Eikon.
Other seaborne Urals oil cargoes loading in the first half of February are headed to Turkey and Bulgaria, while destinations of several cargoes remain unknown.
Seaborne supplies of Urals crude bound for China in January rose to some 230,000 barrels per day (bpd), the highest level since June 2022.
China’s commerce ministry has met independent oil refiners to discuss their deals with Russia and if they were encountering any obstacles, five sources with knowledge of the matter said. (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Business News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
Comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
Join the Conversation