Chinese refineries can't buy Venezuelan crude oil anymore, and they have started to turn to Canada, which has left the White House completely stunned!
In recent years, many independent small refineries in China have relied on heavy crude oil from Venezuela. Although this oil has high sulfur content and is difficult to process, it is cheap, and the discount can be as high as $10 to $20 per barrel, especially when international oil prices fluctuate violently. For profit-poor local refineries, this is a rare "treasure."
However, since the US kidnapped Maduro, the heavy oil trade between China and Venezuela has almost come to a standstill. Previously, it could still be maintained through intermediaries or transshipment, but this time the US went all out, seizing at least three oil tankers. The result is that Chinese buyers simply stopped dealing.
What should these refineries do? They can't just shut down. So, they began to look for alternatives around the world. In fact, there are very few countries that can stably supply large amounts of heavy crude oil: Mexico's production has declined, Iraq's oil is lighter, and Russia has heavy oil but logistics are limited. At this point, Canadian oil sands heavy crude became the closest option to Venezuela's Merey crude oil - density, sulfur content, and processing methods are highly similar, and existing facilities basically don't need modification to use.
More conveniently, Canada was also worried about where to sell its oil. For a long time, more than 90% of Alberta province's oil sands crude has been transported to the United States. Not only is it constrained by a single market, but it is often undervalued. And China happened to extend an olive branch at this time. Bloomberg reported that the number of heavy crude oil tankers loaded from Canada's west coast and sent to China has significantly increased recently. These crude oils are mainly purchased by private refineries in Shandong and Zhejiang provinces, used to maintain the operation of their delayed coking and slurry hydrogenation units.
For Canada, this is like a pie falling from the sky. Alberta's energy minister openly stated that "the Chinese market is a strategic opportunity," and Ottawa quickly adjusted its diplomatic rhythm - even Carney is preparing to visit China and plans to sign an energy cooperation memorandum of understanding. It should be noted that over the past decade, Canada has tried multiple times to export crude oil to Asia, but progress has been slow due to lack of ports and routes. Now, with the "help" of the US kidnapping Maduro, it has finally opened up a new path. The White House is a bit confused this time, but such is the international situation, always so dazzling.
US captures the President of Venezuela
Original: toutiao.com/article/1853986144032776/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.