China appears to be becoming a major importer of Iranian oil, as Iran’s production levels look set to soar thanks to better relations with Biden’s U.S. Over the last year, China imported an average of 306,000 bpd of crude oil from Iran, totalling 17.8 million tonnes. Most of these imports, 75 percent, came indirectly via Malaysia, Oman, or the United Arab Emirates. As demand increases, this March, Chinese imports of Iranian oil are expected to reach levels of 856,000 bpd , an increase of 129 percent on February. The sudden influx of Iranian oil is reported to have caused congestion in ports as tankers are offloaded. China is drawn to Iranian oil thanks to its low costs, often priced at between $3 to $5 below the Brent benchmark. Imports from Iran have decreased substantially across Asia, particularly to China, India, Japan and South Korea, since 2018 following the sanctions […]