Chinese teapots bag cheap crude
Canadian and Iranian barrels being snapped up by China’s smaller refineries amid weaker domestic demand
China’s so-called teapot refineries—small and simple processing facilities that are mostly privately owned—are buying more Canadian and Iranian barrels as they look towards lower-cost sources for succour from lean or even negative margins. The Chinese buying comes amid a slowdown in domestic oil demand, and as both Ottawa and Tehran brace for potential trade friction from President-elect Trump’s incoming administration. The teapots represent one-quarter of China’s refining capacity and are clustered in the eastern province of Shandong. They have been steady buyers of Canadian heavy sour crude exported from the country’s Pacific coast in the six months since the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX)

Also in this section
25 July 2025
Mozambique’s insurgency continues, but the security situation near the LNG site has significantly improved, with TotalEnergies aiming to lift its force majeure within months
25 July 2025
There is a bifurcation in the global oil market as China’s stockpiling contrasts with reduced inventories elsewhere
24 July 2025
The reaction to proposed sanctions on Russian oil buyers has been muted, suggesting trader fatigue with Trump’s frequent bold and erratic threats
24 July 2025
Trump energy policies and changing consumer trends to upend oil supply and demand