Iranian Oil Supply to China Is Rapidly Drying Up

Iranian crude oil cargoes readily available to Chinese buyers have nearly dried up following the reinstated U.S. blockade on Iran’s oil exports, suggesting that independent Chinese refiners, the biggest buyers of Iranian crude, may have to turn to alternative supply as soon as next month. Total Iranian crude volume outside the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman is currently about 83 million barrels, down from over 100 million barrels before the U.S. reinstated the blockade in the middle of July, when the U.S.-Iran talks to make a deal collapsed,…