An Iranian supertanker anchored near Singapore has discharged a part cargo of condensate into a smaller China-bound tanker in what traders said on Tuesday was a rare move, taking place as Western sanctions are complicating oil trade with Iran. The smaller 60,000-tonne vessel, Xuan Wu Hu, was bound for an oil complex in Huizhou, where China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) and oil major Royal Dutch Shell jointly operate a petrochemical complex that contains a splitter.
Shipbroking sources said the Xuan Wu Hu, a vessel owned by China's Cosco, was chartered by Shell and that the cargo of condensate - very light hydrocarbon liquid - is from Iran's South Pars field. "The Huizhou plant takes only condensates, while the nearby refinery uses domestic crude from CNOOC's Penglai field, which has been shut since September," a China-based trader said.
The Iranian supertanker Delvar is presently in Singapore's eastern anchorage, according to Reuters Freight Fundamentals Database, which tracks the positions of ships and also showed that it is partially loaded, from estimates of its draft. A supertanker, or Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), can carry up to two million barrels of oil. Tehran has been struggling to sell its crude oil in the face of tightening US sanctions and an EU embargo on crude that kicks in on July 1 as part of efforts to deter Iran from pressing ahead with its nuclear programme. China, the biggest buyer of Iranian crude oil, operates free of US and EU sanctions.