Jet Encila | Business Times
China’s crude oil imports from Venezuela plunged to nearly nine-year lows as major state-owned Chinese companies seeking to avoid the aftershocks of tightened US sanctions on Venezuela.
China imported 143,838 barrels per day of Venezuelan oil last month, the lowest import amount since December 2010, according to information from China’s General Customs Administration as carried by S&P Global Platts.
According to S&P Global Platts, Chinese buyers are expected to continue shying away from buying Venezuelan oil throughout the rest of the year.
In September this year, China’s imports from Venezuela dropped by 27.2 fold, with China’s National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and its PetroChina subsidiary missing loads from Venezuela after August.
PetroChina was said to have canceled loading arrangements in August that would have seen shipments of 5 million barrels of Venezuelan oil into China in the wake of the tightening US restrictions on Nicolas Maduro’s government in Venezuela.
PetroChina became Venezuelan oil’s largest importer in China until the US imposed further restrictions against the nation in South America.
n September, CNPC missed loads from Venezuela for a second consecutive month and is expected to continue missing those sales until the US clarifies that secondary sanctions will extend for companies trading with Venezuela’s PDVSA.
Although Venezuelan oil imports plunged, China’s total oil imports rose by 11 percent year-on-year in September, the first time since April that imports surpassed 10 million.
In contrast, Saudi Arabia kept its number-one supplier spot to China last month, ahead of Russia and Iraq.
Angola, Oman, and Malaysia follow in the list of China’s top oil suppliers, taking advantage of the low Chinese imports of oil from Venezuela and Iran, due to the US sanctions on Caracas and Tehran.
China’s imports from the US, however, were even lower than those from Venezuela and Iran, due to the import tariff on American crude oil amid the US-China trade spat.
Statistics from China’s General Customs Administration revealed that Saudi oil deliveries exceeded 7.17 million tons in September, or about 1.74 million barrels per day.
That was lower than August’s 7.79 million tons, almost doubling September 2018’s level of 3.784 million tons.
Imports amounted to 59.7 million tons in the first nine months, up 55.5 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Venezuelan exports shrank from 1.45 million tons in August and 808,593 tons in September last year to 588,698 tons last month.
The total export figures coming from the US, Iran, and Venezuela represented just 4 percent of the Chinese’ overall monthly imports, while the country’s merchants embraced a conservative posture when buying spot freight from its three suppliers.
Meanwhile, prices of oil in the global markets were almost unchanged late Monday, clinging on to solid gains in the past days after Russia’s economic ministers vowed to remain firm on an agreement with OPEC producers to keep output in check and support prices.
Bron: Business Times