Reuters: The Clearance of Iranian and Venezuelan Oil Shipments Begins in Shandong, China

The Shandong refining hub in China has begun clearing millions of barrels of oil that had long been stuck in the ports of this province. These shipments, many of which are imported oil from Iran and Venezuela, had been held up at these ports following a series of inspections related to imports into the province. Trade sources announced the release of millions of barrels of oil, stating that this occurred after a meeting this week between Chinese customs officials and refineries. According to Reuters, sources said that the easing of restrictions imposed on Shandong, China's main oil-importing province, is facilitating the entry of heavy crude oil from Venezuela and Iran. These restrictions had been in place since late April. Chinese customs tightened inspections of oil tankers after several shipments of Iranian oil were found with various labels such as diluted bitumen or mixed bitumen. These labels appeared to be used to circumvent oil import quotas, which Beijing strictly controls. This action kept millions of barrels of oil in storage and limited new imports. Three sources estimated that most of the seized oil shipments, amounting to 10 million barrels, are from Venezuela and Iran, with traders having changed their labels to mixed bitumen from Malaysia to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela. Independent Chinese refineries, which account for over one-fifth of the country's crude oil imports and are mainly based in Shandong, have become major customers of Iranian and Venezuelan oil following severe U.S. sanctions on both countries since late 2019. Iran ranks 169th globally in 'economic freedom'; a fall to the bottom of the Middle Eastern countries. The continuation of the 'barter' policy in the Islamic Republic; from tea and rice to medicine and wool. Sri Lanka is repaying a $250 million oil debt to Iran with tea. Qatar and China signed a 27-year agreement for the delivery of liquefied natural gas to China.