12:29 - 13.10.2025

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October 13, Fineko/abc.az. U.S. sanctions against a key Chinese oil import terminal are redirecting the flow of raw materials and threatening to reduce refining volumes at several state-owned refineries.

ABC.AZ reports, referring to Bloomberg, that the blacklisting of the Zhizhao Shihua crude oil terminal last week, through which roughly 9% of oil imports to China pass, may lead to reduction in refining volumes of up to 250,000 b/d at several refineries located near the port in Shandong Province, Energy Aspects analysts say. Several refineries owned by state-governed Sinopec are likely to be the most affected. Speech is about Sinopec's Luoyang refinery with capacity of 200,000 b/d, which is most dependent on raw materials supplied via pipeline from the terminal. Other Sinopec refineries such as Yangtze and Jinling, connected by pipeline to the port of Rizhao, may also experience supply disruptions.

Tankers began bypassing the authorized terminal: the Spherical vessel with 2 million barrels of Brazilian oil changed its destination from Rizhao to Caofaidian, Bloomberg reports. According to Kpler, over 1 million b/d, including Iranian oil, were previously imported through the terminal. Vortexa notes that the measures will mainly affect state-owned refineries, while Energy Aspects believes that the impact on Chinese demand will be short-lived.