{"id":65109,"date":"2025-12-21T10:46:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T10:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/us-seizure-of-venezuelan-tanker-has-limited-immediate-impact-on-chinas-oil-market\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T10:46:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T10:46:21","slug":"us-seizure-of-venezuelan-tanker-has-limited-immediate-impact-on-chinas-oil-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/us-seizure-of-venezuelan-tanker-has-limited-immediate-impact-on-chinas-oil-market\/","title":{"rendered":"US’ seizure of Venezuelan tanker has limited immediate impact on China’s oil market"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Originally posted on : Oil News, Latest Stories & Analysis | Invezz )<\/b>
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The recent US seizure of a tanker off Venezuela\u2019s coast will have a limited immediate effect on the Chinese market.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A significant amount of Venezuelan oil was already headed to China with the country having a current surplus of crude in storage amid weaker domestic demand, according to a Reuters report<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Exports from the South American producer have dropped significantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This decline follows the US seizure of a tanker off Venezuela\u2019s coast and the imposition of new sanctions on shipping companies and vessels involved in trade with the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The possibility of additional seizures is discouraging further shipments.<\/p>\n

As the world\u2019s leading oil importer, China is the primary purchaser of Venezuelan crude, although this supply constitutes only about 4% of China\u2019s total crude imports.<\/p>\n

Imports likely to rise<\/h2>\n


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China is anticipated to see an increase in Venezuelan oil imports this month and next.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This projection is based on a recent surge in exports over the past four months, coupled with significant discounts on the crude, according to the news report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These factors make the oil particularly appealing to independent refiners in China, the primary purchasers, despite the fact that delivery can take up to 60 days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe surge in Venezuela flow to China increased in anticipation of sanctions,\u201d Mukesh Sahdev, founder & CEO of energy consultancy XAnalysts, was quoted in the Reuters report.<\/p>\n

He also predicted the consequences of the tanker seizure\u2014and any subsequent sanctions or seizures\u2014are expected to materialise in February.<\/p>\n

Analysts are projecting a significant increase in the arrival of Merey crude, Venezuela\u2019s primary export grade, in China for December.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tanker tracker Vortexa estimates these arrivals will surpass 600,000 barrels per day. <\/p>\n

Kpler\u2019s initial projection is even higher, at 664,000 bpd, a figure subject to revision, which they note would set a new record.<\/p>\n

Rising volume in floating storage<\/h2>\n


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Increased deliveries from Venezuela, along with substantial shipments from other sanctioned producers like Russia and Iran, have contributed to a growing surplus of oil, which is increasingly being held in floating storage across Asia.<\/p>\n

According to Kpler data, Asian floating oil storage escalated to 71 million barrels last week, a significant jump from 53 million barrels recorded at the end of October and 33 million barrels in early September.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This substantial increase in storage has exacerbated the pressure on Venezuelan crude, leading to deeper discounts.<\/p>\n

According to Vortexa analyst Emma Li, at least a third of the estimated 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Merey oil discharged in China during November is still seeking end-buyers.<\/p>\n

The immediate concern about supply shortages has been mitigated by abundant crude oil available from Russia and Iran, as well as Venezuelan barrels heading to China, according to the report.<\/p>\n

However, one trading manager from a frequent buyer noted that it is too soon to fully assess the impact of the seizure on oil supplies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a precautionary measure against geopolitical risks, the company has begun purchasing \u201csmall amounts\u201d of Canadian TMX crude.<\/p>\n

Teapot refineries purchase Venezuelan crude<\/h2>\n


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For the Chinese buyers of Venezuelan crude\u2014predominantly independent \u201cteapot\u201d refiners\u2014the Merey grade, though representing a small overall market share, is important.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finding immediate, cost-effective alternatives to this specific type of oil would be difficult for these buyers.<\/p>\n

According to the report, only approximately six of these teapot refiners regularly purchase Venezuelan oil. <\/p>\n

However, these facilities face potential costs from supply disruptions and the need to source alternative supplies.<\/p>\n

Demand for Merey in China is currently at a seasonal trough.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is reflected in the Shanghai Futures Exchange, where the most-traded bitumen futures have been on a downward trend since late October.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although the contract has seen minor gains over the last three sessions since Thursday, the cumulative increase remains less than 1%.<\/p>\n

Merey, an extra-heavy crude grade, is significantly more economical than comparable grades like Castilla from Colombia and Access Western Blend from Canada.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Source link <\/a>
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(Originally posted on : Oil News, Latest Stories & Analysis | Invezz ) The recent US seizure of a tanker off Venezuela\u2019s coast will have a limited immediate effect on the Chinese market.\u00a0 A significant amount of Venezuelan oil was already headed to China with the country having a current surplus of crude in storage […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3947362381,"featured_media":65110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65109"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3947362381"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}