Russia Surpasses Brazil as Largest Oil Supplier to China’s Independent Refineries in May

Russia Surpassed Brazil Again As The Largest Supplier Of Crude Oil To China’s Independent Refineries In May, Shipping 1.76 Million Tons Of Crude Oil During The Month

This Represented An 8.7% Increase Month On Month Compared To April’s Imports Of 1.62 Million Tons, And 20.9% More Than A Year Ago. About 94.5% Of Russian Imports Were ESPO Blend, With Only One Shipment Of 96,000 Tons Of Sokol. The Rise Can Be Attributed To Better Comparatively Demand For Diesel That Led Refineries To Book More Feedstock With Higher Diesel Production, According To Analysts.

ESPO Imports Were Shared By 11 Buyers, Including Two Traders.
Meanwhile, Chinese Crude Oil Imports From Malaysia Rose 169.1% In April To 1.313 Million Tons.
All Crude Oil Imports From Malaysia Were Blended, With Petrochemical And Hong Kong Trading Company Taifeng Hairun Also Joining The List Of Buyers Besides ChemChina – The Traditional Buyer Of The Malaysian Blend Nemina.
On The Other Hand, Imports From Brazil Fell 38% In April To 1.313 Million Tons, A Decrease Of 28.6% Year On Year.
Crude Oil Imports From Oman Rose 207.1% Month On Month And 135.5% Year On Year, To 1.21 Million Tons In May.
Total Imports From Saudi Arabia Rose 300% Month On Month To About 1.08 Million Tons, Compared To 270,000 Tons In April. Hengli Petrochemical Imported All The Crude Shipments From Saudi Arabia.

However, Driven By Strong Buying Momentum In Previous Months, Brazilian Grades Remained At The Top Of The List Between January And May, Totaling 9.28 Million Tons, A 26.2% Increase Compared To The Previous Year.

This Was Higher Than Russian Imports Of 9.1 Million Tons In The First Five Months Of 2019, Which Grew 24.6% Year On Year.

The Platts Survey Covers Barrels Import By 38 Independent Refineries With Quotas, And Others Without Quotas, Through Ports Mainly In Shandong Province, As Well As Tianjin, Zhoushan And Dalian.

These Refineries Received A Combined Total Of 76.22 Million Tons By 2019, Representing 84.2% Of The Country’s Total Allocation For Independent Refineries, Including The First Batch And Supplementary Volumes.

The Barrels Include Those Directly Imported By Refiners And Trading Companies, Which Will Be Used By The Independent Sector.

Only Shipments Unloaded In The Month – Including Those That Arrived In Previous Months – Were Counted As Imports For The Month.

High-Grade Exports

The Russian ESPO Blend Remained At The Top Of The Crude Grade In May, With 1.66 Million Tons, Up From 1.62 Million Tons In April.

All These Imports Were For Independent Refineries In Shandong Province, Mainly Due To Relatively Higher Diesel Yields, As Well As Good Economics, According To Sources.

“The Price Of ESPO Is Comparatively Low Compared To Other Grades, Such As Lula,” Said A Source.

Omani Crude Oil Was Imported By Six Refineries, Including Dongming, Qirun, Wonfull, Hongrun, Shenchi And Hebei Xinhai Petrochemical.

In Contrast, Lula Crude Oil Imports Fell Dramatically By 36.2% From April As The Grade Became More Expensive Due To Lower Availability With Some Shipments Going To The U.S. Instead Of Asia, According To Sources.

“Many Shipments Went To The U.S., And Therefore There Was Less Availability For Asia, And Prices Also Rose,” The Source Said.

In Addition To Typical Crude Oil Grades, About 288,000 Tons Of KBT Blend Were Imported By Shenchi Petrochemical Last Month In Two Shipments, The First In Shandong.

The KBT Blend From Iraq Has An API Of About 30.5 And A Sulfur Content Of About 2%.

QINGDAO TAKES HALF OF IMPORTS

Imports From The Ports Of Qingdao And Dongjiakou Grew 2.1% Month On Month, To 4.71 Million Tons In May, Or 43% Of Total Imports Last Month, Down From 50.8% In April.

The Total Incremental Volume In May Of The Imports Was Mainly Absorbed Through The Port Of Dalian, Which Sees More Imports By Hengli.

Imports From The Port Of Yantai Fell 38.3% In April To Just 989,000 Tons In May.