China’s Teapot Refiners Poised to Ramp Up Iranian Oil Buying
China’s independent refiners are likely to return to buying higher volumes of Iran’s crude oil this month as stockpiles in Shandong, home to the independent Chinese refiners, have dropped to the lowest level this year after the biggest estimated monthly draw in a decade. For most of the Middle East
Source: OilPrice.com
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DW NOTE
China's teapot refiners—independent operators who process roughly a quarter of the country's crude—are preparing to increase Iranian oil purchases precisely as the Strait of Hormuz closure has severed normal Gulf access. The timing isn't coincidental: with 2,000 ships stranded and mine-clearing expected to take six months, Iranian crude that never transited Hormuz now trades at a structural discount to alternatives that did.