CCPC Takes Focus on Iran and Venezuela Oil Trade

A Chinese logistics company has emerged as a primary player in sanctioned oil from Iran and Venezuela. However, it became blackballed by Washington two years ago for marketing Iranian crude. Seven sources from Reuters confirmed deals reported.

The more prominent role of China Concord Petroleum Co, also recognized as CCPC, is its development into trading with Venezuela. This has not been published. In fact, it highlighted the limitations of Washington’s system of restrictions, analysts state.

Various individuals described aspects of the deals to Reuters. This includes one China-based expert familiar with CCPC’s services, Iranian executives, and a source at Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA.

CCPC became a part of the Venezuelan oil trade this year by trading with small independent Chinese refineries recognized as teapots. This became stated in monthly loading programs, export records, and invoices from April and May this year PDVSA tanker following data and the PDVSA source.

The Hong Kong-registered firm has soon become an indispensable partner for Caracas. Thus, allowing ships in April and May to take over 20% of Venezuela’s entire oil exports in that period of approximately $445 million value of crude, the PDVSA documents, and tanker tracking data registered. CCPC did not approve any ships carrying Venezuelan oil in June, as stated in the documents.

Many refineries globally, including state-run members in China, held purchasing crude from Iran and Venezuela following the U.S.-ordered sanctions, leaving millions of barrels per day from exports and billions of dollars from their income.

No comments from officials

Ward on oil revenues to run their countries, Tehran and Caracas have since been involved in an extensive cat-and-mouse game with Washington to continue exporting crude. They even applied numerous techniques to evade detection. These include ship-to-ship transfers, shell companies, and intermediaries who work outside the U.S. financial sphere.

In the previous year, CCPC has got at most limited 14 tankers to transfer oil from Iran or Venezuela to China, two of the references asserted.

A person communicated by Reuters on CCPC’s published phone number stated she was ignorant of any market activities of CCPC. She refused to share her name. An email sent to an address for the company posted on the U.S. Treasury’s website did not get a reply.

PDVSA and Venezuela’s oil ministry did not reply to a request for comment. Iran’s oil ministry also refused to comment.