OPEC has new competitor as China ships oil from swelling storage

Some oil from China’s swelling storage tanks is finding its way back into the international market as traders jump at the opportunity to source cheap crude for resale to regional refiners.

The shipments in question, so far just 1 million barrels, have been procured by trading houses via the Shanghai futures exchange, and loaded from the bourse’s numerous storage tanks that dot the country’s eastern coast. From these Chinese ports, the cargoes were then shipped to international buyers who would have otherwise sourced such supplies from producers across the Middle East and Africa.