Expanding sanctions on Chinese ports and refiners are choking flows of Russian and Iranian oil to the world’s No. 1 importer, although emerging workarounds suggest the slowdown may be fleeting.
The big state-owned processors have paused purchases of ESPO, the crude that makes up the bulk of China’s imports from Russia, following US sanctions on producers Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC. Washington’s targeting of the Rizhao oil terminal, which handled about a 10th of China’s crude imports, is also crimping Iranian flows.