China's Unipec Ramps Up U.S. Crude Shipments

Unipec, the trading arm of Asia's top refiner Sinopec, chartered at least four crude tankers this week from the United States, ramping up purchases after attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities and as trade tensions between the world's two largest economies cool, sources said.

Three Aframax vessels that can carry about 750,000 barrels, and one supertanker that can carry about 2 million barrels of crude, have been fixed by Unipec tentatively, according to a shipping source and Refinitiv Eikon data.

The attack on Saudi oil facilities Saturday knocked out half of Saudi Arabia's oil production, or 5% of global output, sending prices soaring when trading resumed on Monday. 

(Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)