Latest news with #EmmaLi
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exports of sanctioned Russian Arctic oil to China set to rise in April, sources say
By Siyi Liu SINGAPORE/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's exports of Arctic oil to China are set to rise sharply in April after sellers offered wide discounts and shipment on non-sanctioned tankers to counter a U.S. embargo, analytics firm Vortexa and two Russian oil traders said. A tenth of Russia's seaborne oil exports make up the Arctic oil business disrupted by Washington's sweeping sanctions levied in January on nearly all tankers carrying supplies of grades such as ARCO, Novy port and Varandey, and producer Gazprom Neft. To evade the curbs, such cargoes go through international waters off Singapore and Malaysia to be transferred to Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) that have not been sanctioned, a process known as ship-to-ship (STS) transfers, before heading to China, said the traders and Vortexa senior analyst Emma Li. Li estimated at least 4 million barrels of Arctic oil completed STS last week and 16 million more have arrived, or will arrive, in the South China Sea this month. China's Arctic oil imports are set to rebound, given the ample supply, but the volume eventually discharged would vary, depending on logistics hurdles and buying interest from Chinese refiners, she added. Lukoil and Gazprom Neft did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comments. China imported 250,000 barrels per day of Arctic oil in March. One of the traders said such transfers are used because many Chinese buyers require oil to be shipped on non-sanctioned vessels so as to avoid the risk of secondary sanctions and are willing to pay higher prices for these cargoes. For example, non-sanctioned VLCC Atila loaded 2.07 million barrels of ARCO from two sanctioned tankers in March in Greater Singapore waters and discharged the cargo at the Dongying port at eastern Shandong province in April, Kpler data shows. Atila previously engaged in STS transfers for Iranian oil. Arctic grades are produced in Russia's northern regions, where harsh weather affects output and logistics, so that setting up an oil project requires gigantic investments. Light Varandey oil is produced by Lukoil, while Gazprom Neft is a producer of light Novy port and heavy ARCO. However, these shipments now take two months to reach China as the tankers are travelling via the Suez Canal, with the STS adding to shipping costs, while the shorter North Sea Route (NSR) to China is closed until July, traders said. "It's a very long and expensive route," one trader said. "The only idea is to evacuate barrels." Light Arctic oil is offered at discounts against Brent prices, down from premiums previously, the traders said. India, previously the top buyer of Arctic oil, has cut purchases due to sanctions, traders said. Arctic oil going to India is mostly Varandey supplied by Litasco, they added. This month, Indian authorities barred a tanker from transferring its Russian oil cargo to another vessel at sea. Other Arctic oil buyers include Syria, with the first shipments taking place earlier this year, and Myanmar. Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
17-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Exports of sanctioned Russian Arctic oil to China set to rise in April, sources say
Summary Sanctioned barrels figure in ship-to-ship transfers around Singapore, Malaysia Delivery route is longer and more costly India has cut purchase due to sanctions SINGAPORE/MOSCOW, April 17 (Reuters) - Russia's exports of Arctic oil to China are set to rise sharply in April after sellers offered wide discounts and shipment on non-sanctioned tankers to counter a U.S. embargo, analytics firm Vortexa and two Russian oil traders said. A tenth of Russia's seaborne oil exports make up the Arctic oil business disrupted by Washington's sweeping sanctions levied in January on nearly all tankers carrying supplies of grades such as ARCO, Novy port and Varandey, and producer Gazprom Neft. To evade the curbs, such cargoes go through international waters off Singapore and Malaysia to be transferred to Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) that have not been sanctioned, a process known as ship-to-ship (STS) transfers, before heading to China, said the traders and Vortexa senior analyst Emma Li. Li estimated at least 4 million barrels of Arctic oil completed STS last week and 16 million more have arrived, or will arrive, in the South China Sea this month. China's Arctic oil imports are set to rebound, given the ample supply, but the volume eventually discharged would vary, depending on logistics hurdles and buying interest from Chinese refiners, she added. Lukoil and Gazprom Neft did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comments. China imported 250,000 barrels per day of Arctic oil in March. One of the traders said such transfers are used because many Chinese buyers require oil to be shipped on non-sanctioned vessels so as to avoid the risk of secondary sanctions and are willing to pay higher prices for these cargoes. For example, non-sanctioned VLCC Atila loaded 2.07 million barrels of ARCO from two sanctioned tankers in March in Greater Singapore waters and discharged the cargo at the Dongying port at eastern Shandong province in April, Kpler data shows. Atila previously engaged in STS transfers for Iranian oil. Arctic grades are produced in Russia's northern regions, where harsh weather affects output and logistics, so that setting up an oil project requires gigantic investments. Light Varandey oil is produced by Lukoil, while Gazprom Neft is a producer of light Novy port and heavy ARCO. However, these shipments now take two months to reach China as the tankers are travelling via the Suez Canal, with the STS adding to shipping costs, while the shorter North Sea Route (NSR) to China is closed until July, traders said. "It's a very long and expensive route," one trader said. "The only idea is to evacuate barrels." Light Arctic oil is offered at discounts against Brent prices, down from premiums previously, the traders said. India, previously the top buyer of Arctic oil, has cut purchases due to sanctions, traders said. Arctic oil going to India is mostly Varandey supplied by Litasco, they added. This month, Indian authorities barred a tanker from transferring its Russian oil cargo to another vessel at sea. Other Arctic oil buyers include Syria, with the first shipments taking place earlier this year, and Myanmar.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exports of sanctioned Russian Arctic oil to China set to rise in April, sources say
By Siyi Liu SINGAPORE/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's exports of Arctic oil to China are set to rise sharply in April after sellers offered wide discounts and shipment on non-sanctioned tankers to counter a U.S. embargo, analytics firm Vortexa and two Russian oil traders said. A tenth of Russia's seaborne oil exports make up the Arctic oil business disrupted by Washington's sweeping sanctions levied in January on nearly all tankers carrying supplies of grades such as ARCO, Novy port and Varandey, and producer Gazprom Neft. To evade the curbs, such cargoes go through international waters off Singapore and Malaysia to be transferred to Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) that have not been sanctioned, a process known as ship-to-ship (STS) transfers, before heading to China, said the traders and Vortexa senior analyst Emma Li. Li estimated at least 4 million barrels of Arctic oil completed STS last week and 16 million more have arrived, or will arrive, in the South China Sea this month. China's Arctic oil imports are set to rebound, given the ample supply, but the volume eventually discharged would vary, depending on logistics hurdles and buying interest from Chinese refiners, she added. Lukoil and Gazprom Neft did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comments. China imported 250,000 barrels per day of Arctic oil in March. One of the traders said such transfers are used because many Chinese buyers require oil to be shipped on non-sanctioned vessels so as to avoid the risk of secondary sanctions and are willing to pay higher prices for these cargoes. For example, non-sanctioned VLCC Atila loaded 2.07 million barrels of ARCO from two sanctioned tankers in March in Greater Singapore waters and discharged the cargo at the Dongying port at eastern Shandong province in April, Kpler data shows. Atila previously engaged in STS transfers for Iranian oil. Arctic grades are produced in Russia's northern regions, where harsh weather affects output and logistics, so that setting up an oil project requires gigantic investments. Light Varandey oil is produced by Lukoil, while Gazprom Neft is a producer of light Novy port and heavy ARCO. However, these shipments now take two months to reach China as the tankers are travelling via the Suez Canal, with the STS adding to shipping costs, while the shorter North Sea Route (NSR) to China is closed until July, traders said. "It's a very long and expensive route," one trader said. "The only idea is to evacuate barrels." Light Arctic oil is offered at discounts against Brent prices, down from premiums previously, the traders said. India, previously the top buyer of Arctic oil, has cut purchases due to sanctions, traders said. Arctic oil going to India is mostly Varandey supplied by Litasco, they added. This month, Indian authorities barred a tanker from transferring its Russian oil cargo to another vessel at sea. Other Arctic oil buyers include Syria, with the first shipments taking place earlier this year, and Myanmar. Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
14-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
China's crude oil imports highest since August 2023 on Iranian surge
SINGAPORE, April 14 (Reuters) - China's crude oil imports in March rebounded sharply from the previous two months and were up nearly 5% from a year earlier, data showed on Monday, boosted by a surge in Iranian oil and a rebound in Russian oil deliveries. March imports totalled 51.41 million metric tons, according to the General Administration of Customs, equivalent to 12.1 million barrels per day, the highest since August 2023, according to Reuters' records of customs data. That is up from 11.55 million bpd in March 2024 and 10.38 million bpd for the January-February period. Arrivals of Iranian oil, which make up about 13% of Chinese total crude oil buys, surged in March as independent refiners and traders stocked up in anticipation of further U.S. measures tightening future supplies. Emma Li, an analyst at tanker analytics firm Vortexa, said her company's tanker tracking showed China's seaborne crude imports rebounded to 10.6 million bpd, the highest since October 2023, driven largely by record Iranian crude arrivals into the Shandong region. Overall, Russian oil deliveries rebounded despite Washington's toughest-ever sanctions on Moscow's oil exports announced in January, as non-sanctioned tankers joined the transport taking advantage of surging freight rates. State refiners, which have curbed purchases of Russian seaborne oil since March, have stepped up buying of alternative supplies from the Middle East, West Africa and South America to compensate. For the first quarter as a whole, crude oil imports stood at 135.25 million tons, or 10.97 million bpd, was 1.5% lower compared with a year ago, the data showed. Customs data also showed March exports of refined oil products, which included diesel, gasoline, aviation fuel and marine fuel, were at 5.24 million tons, down from 6.02 million tons in March 2024. Exports in the first quarter totalled 12.46 million metric tons, down 16% on the year. China released a smaller amount of fresh export quotas versus a year ago and but the earlier-than-usual release weighed on Asian refining margins. Natural gas imports, including piped gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), fell 15% last month over a year earlier at 9.16 million tons, and the first-quarter imports at 29.42 million tons were down 10% versus the same period of 2024. China's spot LNG demand remained subdued due to still high import cost and ample domestic supplies. Companies have also refrained from shipping in U.S. LNG due to Beijing's punitive tariffs amid a tit-for-tat U.S.-China trade war.
Reuters
10-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
China's March Iranian oil imports surge on US sanctions fears
SINGAPORE, April 10 (Reuters) - China's imports of Iranian oil surged in March as buyers stocked up amid worries that further U.S. sanctions on Tehran could tighten supplies, traders and analysts said. China's oil imports from Iran surpassed 1.8 million barrels per day last month, an all-time high, coinciding with a rise in inventory levels in independent refining hub Shandong province, according to data by ship tracking firm Vortexa. Data from analytics firm Kpler put China's Iranian oil imports at 1.37 million bpd in March, up 83% from 747,000 bpd in February and a five-month high, while two traders who track Iranian flows into China estimated March imports at 1.67 million bpd and 1.8 million bpd, respectively. China, which opposes unilateral sanctions, buys some 90% of Iran's oil exports, which are mostly trans-shipped in waters off Malaysia and Singapore and rebranded as Malaysian, a trade that has been boosted as more vessels drawn by high fees replaced those under U.S. sanctions, traders and analysts have said. Iranian oil accounted for 13% of China's March crude imports, Kpler data showed. Vortexa senior analyst Emma Li and a China-based refining source attributed the rush to buy Iranian barrels to worries among traders and refiners of further supply disruptions. Overall onshore inventories in Shandong province rose by 22 million barrels in March from February, an amount matching the increased Iranian arrivals, according to Vortexa. The inventory increase, a record for one month, is concentrated in storage sites at Shandong ports, Li added. Another trader, an executive at an independent "teapot" refiner, said Iranian oil seems to have "flooded in" last month, with some shipments delivered by dealers into tanks looking for buyers. The U.S. has imposed four rounds of sanctions on Iranian oil trade since President Donald Trump's February call for "maximum pressure" on Tehran, including March sanctions on Shandong teapot refiner Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical. Li expects China's Iranian oil imports to drop in April as overall demand has not picked up, which will stabilize the year-to-date average in the 1.3-1.4 million bpd range, in line with last year.
