Chinese oil majors including Sinochem Group and Sinopec's trading arm Unipec are selling cargoes from Nigeria, Angola and Ghana as utilization rates drop to less than 70% of capacity, the lowest since June 2022. The rare sales follow processing cuts at state-owned refiners as the war in Iran upends global oil supply chains.

Refiners across Asia scramble for alternatives after Iran's conflict and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted Persian Gulf shipments, causing prices to surge. China has allowed state refiners to tap commercial storage to shield them from higher market prices and scarce supply while private processors maintain high output rates.

The sold cargoes include Angola's Girassol, Nigeria's Agbami and Ghana's Jubilee crude. Buyers include refiners from Taiwan and Indonesia as Chinese companies procure oil from ports outside the Persian Gulf, including Fujairah in the UAE and Oman's Mina Al Fahal. This unusual behavior reflects China's strategic response to global oil market turmoil.