Loss of Iranian crude, Chinese product exports could hurt Asian refiners

As the first month of theoretically no Iranian crude oil exports comes to a close it seems that Asian refiners have been able to cope with the loss of supplies, but it has come at the expense of their profits.

The United States didn’t renew the waivers granted to eight importers of Iranian crude, which expired at the beginning of May, and the administration of President Donald Trump has been clear in saying it intends to stop all shipments from Iran.

That’s where the “theoretically” part comes into play, because it’s likely that the Iranians are already engaged in numerous strategies to continue to ship oil out of the sight of both the United States and the various services that track vessels.