OIL FROM IRAN AND RUSSIA TO BE RECEIVED IN CHINA VIA SPECIAL TERMINALS

Alternative terminals for receiving sanctioned tankers have appeared in China. Several new Chinese oil terminals have recently started accepting tankers subject to U.S. sanctions, five sources told Reuters, confirming ship-tracking data from Vortexa Analytics and Kpler.

Deliveries to these terminals are still limited, with fewer than 10 batches of oil delivered on tankers on sanctions lists. Thus, the data shows that the sanctioned Aframax Si He tanker delivered Russian ESPO Blend crude oil to a terminal in Dongying port in Shandong province on Tuesday. Dongying port is operated by private company Baogang International. In mid-January, the tanker Nichola (formerly Spirit of Casper, which is on the sanctions list) transported about 1 million barrels of Iranian oil to the Huizhou terminal in southern China. True, the terminal owner said the oil came from Malaysia, but, as the agency points out, Iranian oil is often transshipped to Malaysia. In addition, the Huizhou terminal is also a transshipment terminal, and cargo from this terminal is often transported to Shandong after transshipment.

The “alternative” unloading was the result of a January 8 order by state-owned port group Shandong Port Group. The group, which operates three major ports in Shandong province, has banned the handling and maintenance of vessels on the SDN-List (US Treasury Department sanctions list). This has limited oil imports to the province, which is home to most of China's independent refiners.

US sanctions and restrictions on the port of Shandong have increased costs for Chinese refiners and slowed trade by increasing freight rates, with non-sanctioned vessels joining the trade to fill the gap.

Beijing has consistently opposed unilateral US sanctions and defended the legality of oil trade with Iran and Russia. In response to a Reuters query about the terminal's shipments, China's Foreign Ministry reiterated its position and called on the US to stop interfering with or harming normal trade between China and other countries.

"NiK" recalls that on January 10, the United States introduced the most severe sanctions on the Russian oil supply chain; The list also includes oil tankers, which account for about 40 percent of the Russian Federation’s seaborne crude oil exports. And last Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department also imposed new sanctions on individuals and tankers that help transport Iranian crude oil to China.