Reuters: The Islamic Republic Has Found a New Market for Its Oil in China

Oil tracking companies and trade sources say that crude oil imports from Iran to the port of Dalian in northeastern China and the refinery in this city have significantly increased since late last year. According to an exclusive report by Reuters citing these sources, the current trend follows a decrease in demand for Iranian crude oil from small buyers in the independent refining center in Shandong province, due to refinery problems, rising oil prices, and reduced fuel demand. The Shandong refining center has been a major buyer of Iranian crude oil for the past five years. U.S. sanctions due to concerns over the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities have targeted Iran's exports, including crude oil, since 2018. However, according to Reuters, independent Chinese buyers continue to import Iranian crude oil in the absence of cautious state-owned companies. The company Vortexa, which tracks tanker movements, reports that 23 shipments or a total of 45 million barrels of Iranian crude oil were unloaded in Dalian between October 2023 and June 2024. According to this organization, this figure includes 28 million barrels that were unloaded on Changxing Island, about 85 kilometers northwest of Dalian. Another consulting company called Kpler estimates that China imported 34 million barrels of oil to Dalian during the same period. These figures equate to 124,000 to 164,000 barrels per day, which is approximately 13% of China's total oil imports from Iran in the first half of this year. Experts say that during this period, China imported 1.2 to 1.4 million barrels of crude oil from Iran daily. Vortexa states that crude oil imports from Iran reached a record 1.52 million barrels per day last October. The Chinese Foreign Ministry told Reuters that China and the Islamic Republic have 'always maintained their normal and legal trade under the framework of international law.' China claims to oppose unilateral sanctions. However, trackers and trade sources say that buyers are introducing Iranian oil destined for China as oil imported from Malaysia, Oman, or the United Arab Emirates. According to Vortexa and Kpler, before last October, Dalian, which accounts for six percent of China's total crude oil processing capacity, received very few shipments of Iranian oil. Iranian oil is highly attractive to oil refineries due to significant discounts and much lower prices compared to other exporting countries. Meanwhile, the United States has consistently emphasized the use of all necessary tools to ensure the enforcement of sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic. Jim Risch and Marco Rubio, senior U.S. senators, presented a draft proposal last November that would require the U.S. government to address 'China's evasion of U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.' In his statement, Jim Risch assessed the level of Iranian oil sales to China over the past six years, since 2018, as being at its highest level, asserting that the oil revenues from these transactions not only undermine U.S. sanctions against Iran but also fund financial support for 'terrorist' proxy organizations such as Hamas and Russia's war against Ukraine.