Third Russian Tanker from Sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 Discharges and Departs China

A third tanker from Russia's Arctic LNG 2 plant, which is under Western sanctions, discharged its cargo and exited a terminal in China on Wednesday, LSEG and Kpler's ship-tracking data showed.The U.S.-sanctioned LNG tanker Zarya unloaded more than 160,000 cubic meters of LNG from the sanctioned Russian project Arctic LNG 2 at the Beihai LNG Terminal in Guangxi, southern China.China has so far received three cargoes of LNG from Arctic LNG 2, totalling more than 386…
Third Russian Arctic LNG 2 Plant Tanker Arrives in China

A third tanker from Russia's Arctic LNG 2 plant, which is under Western sanctions, has arrived in China, LSEG ship-tracking data showed on Tuesday.The data showed that LNG tanker Zarya is berthed at China's Beihai LNG terminal in the southern region of Guangxi.A first LNG cargo from Arctic LNG 2 was delivered last month to China by the Arctic Mulan tanker, the data showed.The Arctic project began production in December 2023, but is behind schedule in supplying cargoes of gas because of shortages of ice-class gas carriers and Western sanctions over R
Sanctioned Arctic Mulan LNG Tanker Berths in China

A tanker carrying liquefied natural gas from Russia's sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 plant has moored at an import terminal in southern China on Thursday, after loading at a Russian storage facility in June, Kpler and LSEG ship-tracking data showed.If the tanker discharges the LNG at the terminal, this would be the first cargo from the Arctic LNG 2 project to be received. The project is targeted by Western sanctions over Russia's war with Ukraine.The…
Chinese Refiners Purchase 15 Cargoes of Russian Oil, Indian Demand Falls

Chinese refineries have purchased 15 cargoes of Russian oil for October and November delivery as Indian demand for Moscow's exports falls away, two analysts and one trader said on Tuesday.India has emerged as the leading buyer of Russian seaborne oil, which has sold at a discount since some Western nations shunned purchases and imposed restrictions on Russian exports over Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.Indian state refiners paused Russian oil purchases last month, however, as those discounts narrowed. And U.S.
China Ramps Up Refined Fuel Exports As Profit Margins Rise

China's exports of key refined fuels are on track to jump to the highest in 16 months as refiners take advantage of rising profit margins.Shipments in July of middle and light distillates, which include diesel and gasoline, are forecast to reach 26.63 million barrels, or 859,000 barrels per day, data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler shows.This figure is up from 796,000 bpd in June and the highest since the 1.06 million bpd in March 2024…
Russian Yamal LNG Plant Ships First Cargo This Season Via Northern Sea Route

Russia's Yamal LNG plant, operated by Novatek, has dispatched a first cargo of liquefied natural gas this season via the Northern Sea Route to China, Kommersant daily reported on Friday, citing Kpler data.It said the Arc 7 ice-class tanker Georgiy Ushakov left the port of Sabetta on June 19 and has been moving eastward along Russia's Arctic shore.The route, challenging due to thick ice and cold weather during the winter season, gained more importance over the past few years as Europe, once the largest buyer of Russia's fossil fuels, imposed a number
Key China Energy Indicators to Track for the Rest of 2024

Slower consumption in China spurred the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut estimates for global oil demand growth this week, highlighting the vital role that the world's second largest economy plays in energy markets.Yet overall electricity generation in China climbed to new highs in the first half of 2024 - indicating robust use by households and factories - and imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) rose 10% to…
Russia Ships Naphtha to China via North Sea Route

Russia is shipping a naphtha cargo via the North Sea Route (NSR) as Moscow seeks to increase supplies using the route to major trade partner China, cutting its way through European waters, traders said and Refinitiv data showed.SCF Irtysh is loaded with with 37,000 tonnes of naphtha onboard, loaded at Ust-Luga port on August 5, 2023, for delivery to China. It is the first such loading since at least the late 2000s, according to two traders.The supplier of the cargo was Gazprom Neft, the traders said.
Pakistan and China Sign $4.8 Billion Nuclear Power Plant Deal

Pakistan and China signed a $4.8 billion deal on Tuesday to build a 1,200-megawatt nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, hailing the investment by a country that Pakistan views as its most dependable ally.Work on the Chashma 5 project would begin immediately, Sharif said on state-run news channel PTV following the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between China National Nuclear Cooperation and Pakistan Atomic…
China’s 2021 Crude Oil Imports Down 5.7% - BIMCO

Chinese crude oil imports fell year-on-year in June and July, ending a streak of five months of accumulated year-on-year growth. After the first seven months of 2021, China’s crude oil imports are down 5.7% compared with the same period last year. January to July imports stood at 301.9m tons, an 18.1m tons decline from January to July 2020.The June and July decline in crude oil imports is not attributable to unusually low imports as much as…
China's Crude Oil Imports Rebound

China's crude oil imports rebounded in July from a six-month low as state-backed refiners ramped up output after returning from maintenance, though independent refineries slowed restocking amid probes by Beijing into trading and taxes.China brought in 41.24 million tonnes of crude oil last month, equivalent to 9.71 million barrels per day (bpd), data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Saturday.That compares with 40.14 million tonnes in June and 51.29 million tonnes in July 2020.In the first seven months of the year, China, the worl
China Crude Processing Spikes to All-time High

Chinese refinery crude oil throughput has reached its highest level ever, with total processed volumes up 12% in the first five months of this year compared to 2020, and up 10.9% from the same period in 2019. In total 292.7m tonnes have been processed so far this year according to the National Bureau of Statistics China.Despite the 12.0% growth in crude oil processing, Chinese crude oil supply, which includes imports and domestic production, has only grown by 2.3% in the first five months of this year.
Venezuelan Oil Exports Rise on Larger Sales to Asia

Venezuela’s oil exports rose in February to over 700,000 barrels per day (bpd), their highest level in 10 months, pushed by more sales of fuel oil cargoes to new clients in Asian markets, according to Refinitiv Eikon’s tanker tracking data and documents.A growing number of clients with no track record in oil trading has been helping Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA to allocate crude and fuel in Asia, especially since the U.S. Treasury Department…
Global Crude Market Finds Support From China Demand

China, the global oil market's lifeline this year, has stepped up purchases from exporters like Russia, the United States and Angola in recent weeks, while buyers elsewhere pare orders as coronavirus infections surge and fresh lockdowns are put in place.China, the world's largest importer of crude, is the only major buyer expected to see increased oil demand this year as the pandemic destroyed consumption globally.With China's imports expected to reach 12 million barrels per day (bpd) next year…
China's INE Considers Singapore for Marine Fuel Futures Delivery

The Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) is considering using oil storage sites in Singapore owned by PetroChina Co as a delivery point for its low-sulphur fuel oil futures contract, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.The INE’s move would be the first time a Chinese futures contract would be deliverable outside of China and could boost liquidity for the contract, as well as help to influence pricing for shipping…
China Ramps up US Oil Purchases Ahead of Trade Deal Review

U.S. crude oil shipments to China will rise sharply in coming weeks, U.S. traders and shipbrokers and Chinese importers said, as the world’s top economies gear up to review a January deal after a prolonged trade war.Chinese state-owned oil firms have tentatively booked tankers to carry at least 20 million barrels of U.S. crude for August and September, the people said, moves that may ease U.S. concerns that China’s purchases are trending well short of purchase commitments under the Phase 1 of the trade deal.China had emerged as a top U.S.
China Starts Construction of Southern Part of China-Russia East Gas Pipeline

Construction has started on the southern portion of the China-Russia East natural gas pipeline, which carries supplies from the Power of Siberia system in Russia, China Oil & Gas Piping Network Corp (PipeChina) in a statement on Tuesday.This portion starts at Yongqing in China's northern province of Hebei and ends at Shanghai in eastern China. The full China-Russia East system is a 5,111-km (3,176-mile) pipeline pumping natural gas from the Siberia region in Russia to China.Once launched in 2025…
PipeChina to Buy $56B Worth of Pipelines

China took a major step in the reform of its national oil and gas pipeline network, with newly formed PipeChina agreeing to buy pipelines and storage facilities valued at 391.4 billion yuan ($55.9 billion).Under the deal, PipeChina, known formally as China Oil and Gas Pipeline Network, will take over oil and gas pipelines and storage facilities from state-owned energy giants PetroChina and Sinopec, in return for cash and equity in the pipeline…
Gazprom Neft Sells Its First Arctic Oil Cargo to China
Russia's Gazprom Neft has sold its first ever Arctic oil cargo to China to ChemChina, two sources familiar with the deal told Reuters on Thursday.This week, Gazprom Neft said it had sent 144,000 tonnes of light Novy Port oil grade to the Chinese port of Yantai on the Bohai Sea from Russia's north-western city of Murmansk, using the Northern Sea Route (NSR) through Russia's Arctic waters.The Delta Hellas vessel used part of the NSR, a route requiring icebreakers and ice-class tankers, Refinitiv Eikon data showed, sailing west from Murmansk to reach S
Gazprom Aims to Increase Gas Supplies to China

Russia's Gazprom is committed to supply as much as 130 billion cubic meters of gas (bcm) to China annually in the longer term, a company official told a conference call on Tuesday.Gazprom currently supplies gas to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline which is yet to reach its full capacity of 38 bcm per year. Gazprom plans to add another 6 bcm to Power of Siberia and is in talks over a number of additional routes, the official said.(Reporting by Olesya Astakhova Writing by Katya Golubkova. Editing by Jane Merriman)