Sinopec Reroutes Supertanker After U.S. Sanctions Key Chinese Port

Chinese oil and gas company, Sinopec, has rerouted a supertanker and instructed some of its refineries to reduce crude processing following U.S. sanctions on a major Chinese oil terminal, according to ship tracking data and Chinese consultancies.

The supertanker New Vista, which is carrying 2 million barrels of Abu Dhabi’s Upper Zakum crude, was originally scheduled to discharge at the Rizhao port in Shandong province on Sunday.

After the U.S. imposed sanctions on the terminal on Friday, the vessel’s destination was changed to the ports of Ningbo and Zhoushan, with an expected arrival on 15 October, data from LSEG showed.

The sanctions targeted the Rizhao Shihua Crude Oil Terminal, located in Lanshan, a major Chinese refining hub, for handling Iranian crude transported on sanctioned vessels.

The terminal is reportedly half-owned by a Sinopec logistics unit. Industry sources indicate that about one-fifth of Sinopec’s crude imports pass through Rizhao.

Following the announcement, Sinopec is reported to have told around six of its subsidiary refineries that receive crude from the terminal to reduce processing rates to 80% for the remainder of October, according to a market update by Sublime China Information.

Another consultancy, JLC, estimated that Sinopec’s crude processing in October may fall by 3.36%, to roughly 5.16 million barrels per day. Sinopec did not immediately comment.

The sanctions on Rizhao were part of a wider U.S. action that also targeted ships carrying Iranian crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas, officials said.

Reference: Reuters

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