Latest news with #Unipec
Reuters
30-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Russian ESPO oil premiums hold firm in China despite US tariff threat
MOSCOW/SINGAPORE, July 30 (Reuters) - Premiums for ESPO Blend crude oil loading from Russia's Kozmino port in late August to early September for delivery into China have held firm as buyers seeking to meet robust demand ignore the threat of increased U.S. tariffs, four traders said on Wednesday. Trump on Monday shortened a deadline for Moscow to make progress toward a Ukraine peace deal or face secondary tariffs of 100% in 10 to 12 days. This set the deadline for Russia at August 7 to August 9, while ESPO cargoes loading in September are being traded. Traders said Russian oil trade continued as usual. ESPO Blend's premium to international benchmark ICE Brent was at $2-2.20 per barrel for cargoes loading at end-August and early September as increased refining margins boosted Chinese buying interest, they added. They said independent refiners in the eastern Shandong province have slightly increased their crude processing rates as margins have improved. State oil majors also operated at higher rates this month. The traders, who could not be identified because they were not authorised to speak publicly, said ESPO is considered the most economical crude for Chinese refiners as Middle East crude prices have strengthened. Unipec, the trading arm of Chinese state-run Sinopec ( opens new tab, bought 7-8 cargoes of August-loading ESPO, trade sources said last week, which they said was an increase without giving numbers for previous months. Sinopec did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. Shandong Yulong Petrochemical has also made a rare purchase of Russia's Urals crude, traders said last week. A decline in exports of Russian Sokol crude produced at Sakhalin Island in August due to maintenance at the oilfield has also supported ESPO prices, traders said. Most Sokol crude is exported to China with the rest going to India, data from analytics firm Kpler showed.
Zawya
18-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Kazakhstan CPC Blend oil heads to Asia as European demand eases, sources say
SINGAPORE - Asian refiners are buying more Kazakhstan CPC Blend crude loading in August than July after falling European demand depressed prices, traders said, likely capping Asia demand for similar light-sour grades such as Abu Dhabi's Murban. Softening demand from refiners in the Mediterranean for CPC Blend crude loading in the second-half of August widened discounts for the crude by about $1 a barrel from the previous month, a London-based trader said, creating opportunity for traders to cash in on the difference. Prices for CPC crude for delivery to North Asia are about $3.50 to just below $4 a barrel above September Dubai quotes, the sources said. This is below the cost for Murban at roughly $4.70 a barrel to Dubai quotes on a cost and freight basis (C&F), they added. Murban, which flows mostly to Asia, is supported by lower exports as Abu Dhabi National Oil Co is diverting supplies to its domestic refinery. Unipec, the trading arm of Asia's largest refiner Sinopec , South Korea's top two refiners SK Energy and GS Energy, and India's Reliance Industries have bought at least 1 million barrels of CPC Blend crude each, the sources said. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A narrowing of Brent's premium to Middle East benchmark Dubai has also made Atlantic Basin grades more affordable for Asian buyers. The Brent-Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps fell below $1.60 a barrel this week, on Thursday's close, levels not seen since May, LSEG data showed. June Goh, a senior analyst at Sparta Commodities, said an uptick in freight rates for Very Large Crude Carriers on the Middle East to China route has also increased costs for Gulf crudes versus arbitrage supplies from Kazakhstan, the U.S. and Brazil. "We anticipate further correction of the spot AG (Arabian Gulf) market is required to stave off competition of the arb crudes," she added. Meanwhile, traders are also seeking opportunities to ship U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude to Asia after premiums for WTI at East Houston , also known as MEH, fell to their lowest in more than two weeks. Offers for WTI crude deliveries to North Asia are about $5 a barrel above September Dubai quotes, slightly higher than Murban, traders said. (Reporting by Florence Tan and Siyi Liu in Singapore, Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
Reuters
18-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Kazakhstan CPC Blend oil heads to Asia as European demand eases, sources say
SINGAPORE, July 18 (Reuters) - Asian refiners are buying more Kazakhstan CPC Blend crude loading in August than July after falling European demand depressed prices, traders said, likely capping Asia demand for similar light-sour grades such as Abu Dhabi's Murban. Softening demand from refiners in the Mediterranean for CPC Blend crude loading in the second-half of August widened discounts for the crude by about $1 a barrel from the previous month, a London-based trader said, creating opportunity for traders to cash in on the difference. Prices for CPC crude for delivery to North Asia are about $3.50 to just below $4 a barrel above September Dubai quotes, the sources said. This is below the cost for Murban at roughly $4.70 a barrel to Dubai quotes on a cost and freight basis (C&F), they added. Murban, which flows mostly to Asia, is supported by lower exports as Abu Dhabi National Oil Co is diverting supplies to its domestic refinery. Unipec, the trading arm of Asia's largest refiner Sinopec ( opens new tab, South Korea's top two refiners SK Energy and GS Energy, and India's Reliance Industries ( opens new tab have bought at least 1 million barrels of CPC Blend crude each, the sources said. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A narrowing of Brent's premium to Middle East benchmark Dubai has also made Atlantic Basin grades more affordable for Asian buyers. The Brent-Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps fell below $1.60 a barrel this week, on Thursday's close, levels not seen since May, LSEG data showed. June Goh, a senior analyst at Sparta Commodities, said an uptick in freight rates for Very Large Crude Carriers on the Middle East to China route has also increased costs for Gulf crudes versus arbitrage supplies from Kazakhstan, the U.S. and Brazil. "We anticipate further correction of the spot AG (Arabian Gulf) market is required to stave off competition of the arb crudes," she added. Meanwhile, traders are also seeking opportunities to ship U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude to Asia after premiums for WTI at East Houston , also known as MEH, fell to their lowest in more than two weeks. Offers for WTI crude deliveries to North Asia are about $5 a barrel above September Dubai quotes, slightly higher than Murban, traders said.
Reuters
23-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Tankers U-turn, zig-zag, pause around Strait of Hormuz
SINGAPORE, June 23 (Reuters) - At least two supertankers made U-turns at the Strait of Hormuz following U.S. military strikes on Iran, shiptracking data shows, as more than a week of violence in the region prompts vessels to speed, pause, or alter their journeys. Washington's decision to join Israel's attacks on Iran has stoked fears that Iran could retaliate by closing the strait between Iran and Oman through which around 20% of global oil and gas demand flows. That has spurred forecasts of oil surging to $100 a barrel. Disruption is already evident, with tankers avoiding spending more time than needed in the strait, industry sources said. Singapore-based Sentosa Shipbrokers said that over the past week, empty tankers entering the Gulf are down 32% while loaded tanker departures are down 27% from early May levels. The Coswisdom Lake, a very large crude carrier (VLCC), reached the strait on Sunday before making a U-turn and heading south, Kpler and LSEG data showed. On Monday it turned back again, resuming its journey towards the port of Zirku in the United Arab Emirates. The South Loyalty, also a VLCC, made a similar U-turn and remained outside the strait on Monday, LSEG data showed. It was scheduled to load crude from Iraq's Basra terminal, according to Kpler data and two shipping sources. The Coswisdom Lake was scheduled to load crude at Zirku for delivery to China. It was chartered by Unipec, a trading arm of China's state-run Sinopec ( opens new tab, LSEG and Kpler data showed. Sinopec did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Shipowners will try to minimise time that vessels spend inside the Strait of Hormuz due to the conflict, KY Lin, spokesperson at Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp. "Vessels will only enter the region when it is nearer to their loading time," he said on Monday. Japanese shipping firms Nippon Yusen (9101.T), opens new tab and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (9104.T), opens new tab said on Monday they continue to transit the strait but have instructed their vessels to minimise time spent in the Gulf. Several oil traders and analysts told Reuters that they had been warned to expect possible shipping delays as vessels wait for their turn outside the area. Iran's parliament on Sunday approved a measure to close the strait, Iran's Press TV reported, but any such move would require approval from the Supreme National Security Council. Iran has threatened to close the strait in the past but has never done so.
New Straits Times
24-04-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Sinopec resumes Russian oil purchase after short pause amid sanctions risks
SINGAPORE: Sinopec, Asia's top refiner, resumed purchases of Russian oil after a brief pause last month to assess risks from sanctions imposed by the United States on Russian entities, trade sources said on Wednesday. Unipec, a trading arm under China's state-run Sinopec, has bought May-loading Russian Far East ESPO Blend oil, the sources said, having been absent from the trade of March and April-loading ESPO cargoes. It was not immediately clear why Unipec resumed purchases. Sinopec did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The number of cargoes Unipec purchased is much lower than before the January sanctions were announced, the sources said. The former Biden administration imposed on Jan 10 harsh sanctions targeting Russian producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz as well as insurers and more than 100 vessels to curtail Moscow's oil revenue. The sanctions caused Russian oil exports to China and India to fall while Chinese state oil firms Sinopec and Zhenhua Oil suspended purchases of Russian oil, Reuters reported last month.
