A group of Chinese companies importing one-fifth of all the oil produced by OPEC countries is preparing a major raw materials procurement strategy.
Chinese giants of oil refining are preparing massive bids for purchase of Russian raw materials – sources.
This is reported by the agency “Bloomberg,” referring to sources familiar with the negotiations in Beijing.
According to available data, senior executives of oil refining companies “China Petroleum & Chemical”, “PetroChina”, “Cnooc” and “Sinochem Group” are currently discussing details of the plan, which has already been approved by the Chinese government.
According to the plan, the group of companies will collectively issue orders for Russian and African oil brands on the spot market. The companies involved in the strategy are currently importing over 5 million barrels of oil per day.
“This is almost a fifth of OPEC’s total production, which would make it [the group] the world’s largest crude oil buyer”, – emphasizes Bloomberg.
The initiative was first discussed back in 209, but special interest in it arose in the context of a collapse in prices and declining oil production. China, which has recovered from the epidemic, has shown a rapid economic restart in recent months. Such successes have already encouraged state and independent refineries of the country to buy Russian and Brazilian oil on the spot market.
It is expected that already next month Chinese refineries will launch a joint tender for supply of raw materials from Russia in test mode. Later, according to sources, the group will expand at the expense of other companies, which will increase the volume of purchased products.