Bloomberg: Leading Chinese Buyer of Venezuelan Oil Shifts to Canadian Crude

Shandong Chambroad Petrochemicals Co., one of the largest regular buyers of Venezuelan oil in China, is seeking to purchase crude from Canada, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

The move comes after a U.S. campaign targeting Nicolás Maduro’s government and increased pressure on Venezuela’s energy sector contributed to higher prices.

According to the sources, Shandong Chambroad is looking to buy Canadian Cold Lake crude at a discount of about $5 per barrel to Brent for delivery to China in May. The deal has not yet been finalized. Recent transactions for Chinese buyers of this grade have been concluded at discounts of roughly $4 per barrel to Brent.

Bloomberg noted that before the U.S. measures, China had been buying Venezuelan Merey crude through opaque trading channels, with discounts reaching as much as $15 per barrel.

• The United States is going to to sell Venezuelan oil "indefinitely"and the funds will be used "for the benefit of the Venezuelan people."
• President Trump signed an executive order to freezing of funds from the sale of Venezuelan oilthe funds are held in the accounts of the U.S. Treasury Department.
• US Treasury Department started easing sanctions against Venezuelan crude oil. Instead, the Venezuelan authorities opened the country's oil sector to private investors.