Iranian crudes, which are much cheaper than Russian ESPO crudes, have gained more popularity among independent refineries in recent months, S&P Global Commodity Insights reported.
China's independent refiners, mainly in eastern Shandong province, increased their Iranian crude imports by 4.3% in June to an eight-month high of around 6.1 million mt to cut feedstock costs and combat weak refining margins, according to sources and S&P Global Commodity Insight data July 4.
The volume was the highest since October 2023, when it hit 6.22 million mt, the data showed.
Iranian crude accounted for about 65.7% of the total feedstock portfolio of small-sized independent refineries in Shandong in June, compared with 54.2% in May.
In the first half of 2024, combined feedstock imports from Iran rose 22.3% on the year to 30.2 million mt from 24.7 million mt, Commodity Insights data showed.
These cargoes accounted for around 52.2% of feedstocks imported by independent refiners during the same period, growing from a low base of 35.8% in the corresponding period last year.
AMK/TT
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