The trading arm of Asia’s largest refiner Sinopec, Unipec, has quickly grabbed 8 million barrels of North Sea crude Johan Svedrup to be delivered in May amid weak demand in Europe, several trade sources said. As gathered by Reuters.
According to Kpler data, the volume is set to be the highest since February 2022 when 8.3 million barrels of the grade headed for China.
Johan Svedrup, which used to be popular with Chinese buyers, has been diverted over the past year to meet European demand due to Western sanctions after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Reuters cited two unidentified sources to have said that Unipec purchased the cargoes at about $2.50 a barrel above dated Brent on a cost and freight basis.
Johan Svedrup will be replacing some of the April-loading Omani crude which Unipec sold during the Platts Market on Close process last month, another source said.
Svedrup produces medium-heavy crude similar to Russian Urals and Omani oil. The field’s production, was ramped up last year to 755,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), more than the planned 660,000 bpd, after the second phase of development came on stream.
