Chinese Refiners Step Up Iraqi Crude Buying as Hormuz Traffic Thins

According to a Bloomberg report carried by OilPrice.com on Thursday, August 20, 2026 (29 Mordad 1405), Chinese refiners, citing unnamed traders, recently purchased 8 million barrels of Iraq's Basrah Heavy and Basrah Medium crude for prompt delivery. Oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz, Iraq's main export route, have continued despite Iran's blockade but have fallen to a fraction of prior volumes.

Data from ship tracker Marine Traffic showed only 95 vessel crossings through the strait in the week to August 17 (26 Mordad), down from 118 the previous week. Iraq's State Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) said the country has been exporting via Hormuz at a rate of 2 million barrels a day since the start of the month. Saudi Arabia, facing Houthi attacks, has rerouted its oil exports from Hormuz to the Red Sea and then from the port of Yanbu to Egypt via the Suez Canal.

Emirati crude has been another destination for Chinese buyers; at a tender at the end of July, Sinopec, PetroChina and Sinochem bought 2 million barrels of Upper Zakum crude, while ADNOC sold a total of 12 million barrels at that same tender.