– The Trump Administration’s 10% blanket sanctions on China and Beijing’s retaliatory 10% tariff on US crude imports have failed to trigger any meaningful upside movement in oil prices, but it will most probably mark the end of US crude exports to the Chinese market.
– In 2024, Chinese refiners imported some 180,000 b/d of US crude, accounting for less than 5% of US oil and a mere third of what imports were in 2020 as worsening US-Chinese ties led to Beijing buying less.
– US oil exporters would need to reroute their China-bound flows to other Asian buyers; however, this would require a lot of flexibility from countries such as South Korea which already imports some 500,000 b/d, being the second largest buyer of US crude globally.
– Beijing simultaneously announced a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas imports from the United States, with the Chinese market accounting for 12% and 5% of total US exports, respectively.
BP Needs a Miracle to Impress with New CEO Running Into Same Disappointment
– The ongoing decline of once all-powerful oil major BP seems to have no end, taking 20 years to reject ex-CEO John Browne’s famous quip that the company should reposition itself as ‘Beyond Petroleum’, and yet its stock performance is still in shambles.
– Ever since Murray Auchincloss was named the new chief executive of BP in January 2024, BP shares have fallen 11%…