China continued to import crude oil from the US, Iran and Venezuela in September, but Asia’s biggest energy consumer kept shipments from the three producers minimal due to the tariff and sanctions barriers blocking easier access to those supplies, latest data from the General Adminstration of Customs showed Friday.
China received 517,982 mt (126,560 b/d) of crude oil from US in September, down 50.2% from the same period a year earlier, GAC data showed.
Beijing has announced a 5% levy on US crude from September 1 as part of a round of countermeasures to impose tariffs on $75 billion worth of US goods.
However, the flow continued as the drop in benchmark crude prices could help absorb the impact of the tariff and the arbitrage window for US crude to China is still possible, while an oversupplied market leaves traders with alternative barrels to tap into, traders said.
Imports from Venezuela fell to a nine-year low of 588,698 mt (143,838 b/d) last month and the flow is expected to fall further in the fourth quarter.
Last time China received less volume from the South American producer was in December 2010, when it took 586,076 mt, GAC data showed.
In September, state-run PetroChina said it will suspend directly buying crude oil from Venezuela, in accordance with US sanctions on the South American producer.
Direct imports of Venezuelan crudes, almost all heavy sour, would officially come to an end from October, a company source with close knowledge of the matter previously told S&P Global Platts. PetroChina was the top importer for Venezuelan crude in China.