A huge volume of crude products from Iran is now reportedly en route to China's northeast Dalian port and is expected to arrive within this month and in early November as Tehran braces itself for the upcoming implementation of Washington's latest economic sanctions, an Iranian shipping manifest and data revealed on Refinitv Eikon.
According to Reuters, the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) is carrying more than 20 million barrels of oil heading for China.
An unnamed source who happens to be under the employment of the said freight company was quoted as saying by the publication that Tehran is bent on selling its oil, if not to its usual clients, then to China.
Once the oil tankers docked in Dalian, the person said, Iran will then have to decide whether to sell the huge bulk solely to China or to other interested parties.
Citing the shipping data on Refinitiv Eikon, the report from the news agency said that there were now a total of 22 million barrels of Iranian crude loaded on NITC's fleet of oil tankers. All of which will go to China.
The initial batch of oil shipments is slated to arrive at Dalian by October, while the remainder will follow along with this November.
Distribution Site
The rather small modern port city on the Liaodong Peninsula, at the southern tip of China's Liaoning Province, can only receive particular sizes of shipment. As pointed out by the news outfit, Dalian typically accommodates at least 1 million up to 3 million barrels of Iranian crude each month, based on the data taken in January 2015.
As mentioned in the report from India Times, the Islamic Republic had been working closely with the Chinese government during the last wave of US sanctions in 2014. In that year, the country was able to store its oil shipments at Dalian which was later distributed to different buyers coming from South Korea and India.
It is also in Dalian where some of China's major refineries and commercial oil storage facilities can be found.
The state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Dalian Port PDA Co. Ltd. are both handling commercial storage operations in the area.
China's Stance On US Sanctions
On November 4, the sanction from Washington prohibiting Iran from participating in the global oil trade will take effect. The said policy will also discourage other countries from doing business with the embattled Islamic country.
However, China had made it clear that it will uphold its business standing with Iran despite these economic sanctions from the US.
