China’s Hengli Petrochemical has cancelled crude oil purchases worth millions of barrels, including shipments from West Africa, as U.S. sanctions continue to affect the operations of one of the country’s largest independent refiners.
Hengli cancelled contracts for at least 6 million barrels of crude oil, an unusual decision in the global oil market where refiners rarely withdraw from purchases after signing agreements.
The cancelled volumes include 2 million barrels of West African crude that had already arrived at third-party storage facilities in eastern China, along with 4 million barrels of Middle Eastern crude expected to arrive in July. One of the Middle Eastern cargoes has since been resold, one source said.
The move comes just weeks after reports showed that Hengli had started buying crude from West Africa and the Middle East in an effort to reduce its reliance on Iranian oil and strengthen its position with U.S. authorities.
source:africa.businessinsider.com
African Energy Council