China’s small, private refiners are paying up for Iranian oil due to reduced flows and few offers.
The so-called teapots bought Iranian Light crude for December arrival at a discount of $2 to $3 a barrel against the ICE Brent benchmark, the smallest gap this year, according to market participants. Traders said they’ve seen fewer cargo offers over the past weeks, while there have also been talks of cargo delays that have crimped Iran-to-China volumes in recent months.