[Text/ Observer Network Xiong Chaoran] According to a report by US media Bloomberg on July 3, local time, as its most important ally (Russia) is increasingly consolidating its position in the key Chinese market, Iran is being forced to Further lowering its already cheap crude oil prices in order to compete with Russia for the Chinese market.
reported that China has become an important destination for Russian oil as Russia seeks to maintain crude oil exports after the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Due to U.S. sanctions, Iran's crude oil transportation has been severely restricted, and various factors have led to intensified competition in the country's one of the few remaining markets in China.
Bloomberg report screenshot
According to reports, in May this year, Russia’s crude oil exports to China soared to a record level and replaced Saudi Arabia as the largest supplier to China, the world’s largest crude oil importer.
Data released by the General Administration of Customs of China show that in May this year, China’s oil imports from Russia reached a record level of 8.42 million tons, an increase of 28% from the previous month and an increase of 55% from the same period last year.
China’s total crude oil imports from Russia in May exceeded the Saudi General Administration of Customs data query website screenshot
Even as Iran lowered oil prices to remain competitive in the Chinese market, it still maintained strong oil exports. Part of the reason may be China After certain epidemic prevention and control restrictions were gradually relaxed, consumer demand increased.
"The only competition between Iranian and Russian oil may eventually unfold in the Chinese market, which is completely beneficial to Beijing." Vandana Hari, founder of Singapore-based energy consulting firm Vanda Insights, analyzed that this situation may also make the Gulf The region's oil producers are uneasy as their precious market is taken away by sharply cheaper crude.
Bloomberg said that since the end of 2020, China’s official data lists Iranian crude oil imports for only three months, including January and May this year. Third-party data shows that crude oil supply is stable.
Average daily imports exceeded 700,000 barrels in May and June after a slight decline in April, according to commodity data analytics firm Kpler. However, another industry consulting firm, FGE, said that Russian Urals crude oil has replaced part of Iranian crude oil.
Data map: Traders at the Persian Gulf Star refinery in Bandar Bandar Abbas, southeastern Iran, said that the price of Iranian crude oil is already nearly $10 per barrel lower than the price of Brent crude oil futures. , the same as the price of Urals crude oil scheduled to arrive in the Chinese market in August. The
report also stated that China’s independent private refineries are major buyers of Russian and Iranian crude oil, and cheap supplies are important because they, unlike state-owned refineries, are restricted by fuel export rules.
Traders also said that Russian ESPO crude oil from the eastern port of Kozmino has lower sulfur content and higher quality, which is more expensive than Iranian oil, but is still cheaper than similar crude oil from the Middle East , and China is also willing to accept it. Such discount oil. In contrast, West Africa is one of the areas hardest hit by the oil industry, especially supplies from Angola, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said senior oil analyst at Kpler. Last month, West Africa's average daily oil exports were 642,000 barrels, the lowest level since November 2013.
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