Chen Aizhu News

The Russian tanker Liteyny Prospect, hit by sanctions, has docked at the Chinese port of Huanghua to discharge its 700,000-barrel Russian Sokol crude cargo, two sources familiar with the matter said, clearing part of a backlog of cargoes disrupted by sanctions on Moscow's oil trade.The tanker is one of six ships carrying Sokol crude, which India has not been able to import due to payment issues. The six ships had been sailing to China but five of them are floating at sea early this week, shipping data showed, following fresh U.S.

China has set itself the goal of producing more than half of the world's ships powered by cleaner fuels by 2025, in guidelines published by the industry ministry on Thursday.It did not give any estimates of the number of ships involved.

China's Shandong refining hub has begun releasing millions of barrels of oil that were stuck at ports after inspections curbed imports into the province, trading sources said following a meeting this week between officials and refiners.The easing of curbs placed on China's top oil importing province in mid-April will help free up inflows of heavy crude from Venezuela and Iran, they said. In a meeting hosted by the Shandong government on Tuesday between customs officials and independent refiners…

Chinese customs authorities are stepping up inspection checks on cargoes of heavy crude oil after uncovering several Iranian shipments that were mislabelled as diluted bitumen in an effort to bypass import quotas.The checks, begun a month ago, are delaying oil discharges into the eastern refining hub of Shandong province.They are also adding to uncertainty over the risk of disruption to shipments from Iran and Venezuela, while cutting into refining operations just as fuel demand recovers.

Tankers delivering to ports in China's Shandong province are facing delays discharging their oil due to orders for tighter customs inspection checks after several Iranian cargoes were declared as diluted bitumen, traders said.Crude oil, unlike bitumen, is subject to strict import quotas and dozens of oil tankers were being inspected since last week, after customs authorities were given instructions in late March to step up checks. The delays at the terminals could cause further reductions in already low operating rates among the independent refiners in Shandong…

China's seaborne imports of Russian oil are set to hit a record this month after refiners took advantage of cheap prices as domestic fuel demand rebounded, but Russia's plan to cut exports will likely cap buying in coming months.Hefty Chinese buying, alongside robust Indian demand, has been spurred by steep price discounts but is providing Moscow much-needed revenue after the Group of Seven imposed a $60 price cap on Russian crude."Price is the king," said a purchasing manager…

Chinese utilities and traders have stepped up purchases of Australian coal in February, encouraged by signs of further policy relaxation after trade partially resumed last month following a two-year hiatus.In early January, Beijing gave permission to four government-backed firms, comprising steel giant Baowu Group and three state utilities, to ship in Australian coal, the first sign of an easing of the unofficial import ban in place since late 2020. The ban was imposed after relations…

Iranian oil exports hit new highs in the last two months of 2022 and are making a strong start to 2023 despite U.S. sanctions, according to companies that track the flows, on higher shipments to China and Venezuela.Tehran's oil exports have been limited since former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 exited a 2015 nuclear accord and reimposed sanctions aimed at curbing oil exports and the associated revenue to Iran's government.Exports have risen during the term of his successor President Joe Biden, who had sought to revive the nuclear deal, and hit the highest since 2019 on some estimates.

At least four Chinese-owned supertankers are shipping Russian Urals crude to China, according to trading sources and tracking data, as Moscow seeks vessels for exports after a G7 oil price cap restricted the use of Western cargo services and insurance.China, the world's top oil importer, has continued buying Russian oil despite Western sanctions, after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping launched what they called a no-limit partnership before the war in Ukraine.The sources said a fifth supertanker…

China is making fast inroads in the market for newbuild liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers as local and foreign shipowners turn to its shipbuilders for the specialty vessels because long dominant yards in South Korea are fully booked. Three Chinese shipyards - only one of them having experience building large LNG tankers - won nearly 30% of this year's record orders for 163 new gas carriers, claiming ground in a sector where South Korea usually captures most of the business.

QatarEnergy has signed a 27-year deal to supply China's Sinopec with liquefied natural gas (LNG), the longest such LNG agreement so far as volatile markets drive buyers to seek long-term deals. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, competition for LNG has become intense, with Europe in particular needing vast amounts to help replace Russian pipeline gas that used to make up almost 40% of the continent's imports."Today is an important milestone for the first sales and purchase agreement (SPA) for North Field East project…

A U.S. Treasury official has ruled out secondary sanctions to enforce a price cap mechanism on Russian oil exports despite a proposal last week by U.S. senators.Democratic and Republican senators last week proposed that U.S. President Joe Biden's administration use secondary sanctions on international banks to strengthen the price cap aimed at capping Russia's oil revenues while minimizing the impact on global markets and prices."We don't think secondary sanctions are needed," Catherine Wolfram, deputy assistant secretary for climate and energy economics at the U.S.

Chinese refiner Shenghong Petrochemical Corp, part of the listed Jiangsu Eastern Shenghong Co 000301.SZ, has readied a new terminal to receive Very Large Crude Carriers and boost the refiner's logistics efficiency, a company representative said. The Lianyungang terminal in Jiangsu province is able to dock super tankers with capacity of 300,000 tonnes deadweight.The refiner, which started trial operations at its 320,000 barrel per day crude distillation unit in May, is in the process of starting up secondary and petrochemical units…

China has entrusted a defense-focussed state firm to ship millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil despite U.S. sanctions, part of a deal to offset Caracas' billions of dollars of debt to Beijing, according to three sources and tanker tracking data. China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) stopped carrying Venezuelan oil in August 2019 after Washington tightened sanctions on the South American exporter. But it continued to find its way to China via traders who rebranded the fuel as Malaysian, Reuters has reported.

China is set to receive close to two million barrels of Iranian oil this week and pump into a reserve base in south China, according to tanker tracker specialist Vortexa Analytics.Diona, a very large crude carrier owned by National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), is expected to discharge the oil into an oil terminal in Zhanjiang of Guangdong province, said Emma Li, Vortexa's China analyst.This would be the third Iranian oil cargo destined for government stockpile following two similar-sized shipments in December and January.This shipment is likely to be reported by Chinese customs which is due

China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) has awarded 16 billion yuan ($2.42 billion) worth of contracts to build 12 liquefied natural gas tankers, the largest of their kind in the country, the company said on Thursday.China is the world's largest buyer of the super-chilled gas, while CNOOC is the country's largest importer of the fuel and among the state majors leading a drive to expand their LNG fleet to meet rising import needs and facilitate fast-growing global trade.

The world's largest independent oil trader, Vitol, loaded a cargo of Russian ESPO Blend crude for the United Arab Emirates this week, the first such voyage for the grade, data from several analytics firms showed.Suezmax tanker Kriti Breeze loaded the 740,000-barrel cargo on May 3, and is heading to the port of Fujairah, data from Refinitiv, Kpler and Vortexa showed.Vitol could not immediately be reached for comment.(Reporting by Florence Tan and Chen Aizhu; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Traders are deploying smaller, costlier vessels to ship displaced Russian oil from European ports to China, in a rare move as Western sanctions on Moscow force them to use unconventional methods to transport the product.About 5 million barrels of Russian Urals crude was scheduled to load in April and May destined for China on four Aframax-sized tankers that each carry 730,000 barrels and two Suezmax-sized vessels each holding around 1 million barrels, according to shipping reports and research by Refinitiv and Vortexa.A very large crude carrier (VLCC)…

China's exports of marine fuel in March plunged 15% from a year ago, customs data showed on Wednesday, hit by high prices and COVID-19 curbs at domestic ports.March shipments were 1.42 million tonnes, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. Most of this was very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), with a maximum sulphur content of 0.5%, to meet the emission rules of the International Maritime Organization.The volume was up from 1.31 million tonnes in February but was…

Chinese refiners are paying for Russian crude oil using cash transfers to maintain imports from Russia’s Fast East, as banks shy away from financing the oil because of sanctions, sources with knowledge of the matter said.Global oil prices have soared to their highest in a decade as banks halted financing Russian oil after the United States and other countries ramped up sanctions on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.Spot crude premiums and freight rates also spiked, piling on buyers’ costs.Several European and U.S.

China's state economic planner has approved natural gas company Hanas Group's plan to build a receiving terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the southeastern province of Fujian.The terminal will have an annual receiving capacity of 5.65 million tonnes of the super-chilled fuel, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Wednesday.(Reuters - Reporting by Chen Aizhu; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

Iranian oil exports have risen to more than 1 million barrels per day for the first time in almost three years, based on estimates from companies that track the flows, reflecting increased shipments to China.Tehran's oil exports have been limited since former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 exited a 2015 nuclear accord and reimposed sanctions aimed at curbing oil exports and the associated revenue to Iran's government.Iran has kept some exports flowing despite sanctions as intermediaries find ways to disguise the origin of the imports.

China's Sinopec Corp has issued a tender to sell up to 45 cargoes of liquefied natural gas for 2022 deliveries, in a rare sell tender of the super-chilled fuel to take advantage of high Asian spot prices, said traders who were invited to bid.Under the tender, Sinopec offered two to five cargoes each month between February and October on a delivered ex-ship basis.Prices will be linked either to Europe's Title Transfer Facility pricing or North Asian benchmark Japan Korean Marker.The tender closes on January 21 with bids valid by 1000 GMT.(Reporting by Chen Aizhu, Editing by Louise Heavens)