Chinese oil refiners are shunning Russian shipments after the U.S. and others blacklisted Moscow’s top producers and some of its customers.
State-owned giants such as Sinopec and PetroChina are staying on the sidelines, having canceled some Russian cargoes in the wake of U.S. sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil last month, according to traders. Smaller private refiners, dubbed teapots, are also holding off, fearful of attracting similar penalties to those faced by Shandong Yulong Petrochemical, which was recently blacklisted by the U.K. and European Union.
The Russian crudes affected include the widely favored ESPO grade, which has seen prices plunge. Consultancy Rystad Energy AS estimates some 400,000 barrels a day, or as much as 45% of China’s total oil imports from Russia, are affected by the buyers’ strike.
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