Dragon Aromatics

“China's March crude oil imports from Iran rose more than a third from a year ago, keeping imports in the first three months of 2014 close to the levels seen before Western sanctions were applied more than two years ago. China's intake from Iran in March rose 36.1 percent to 555,182 barrels per day (bpd), customs data showed on Monday, in keeping with the rise in exports from the OPEC member after the November nuclear deal that eased some sanctions on Tehran…China's imports have been higher this year largely due to new volumes of condensate, a super light crude, and also because top refiner Sinopec Corp may have boosted liftings under a long-term agreement, traders said. China's oil arrivals from Iran in the first quarter of this year were at 557,605 bpd, up 36.2 percent from a year ago. On a daily basis, China's March imports of Iranian oil climbed 0.5 percent from February's 552,613 bpd. Ship loading data seen last week by Reuters shows that China's crude and condensate intake this month - based on March tanker schedules - should be around 562,000 bpd before jumping to more than 600,000 bpd in May…China may have trouble holding down its own Iranian oil imports in 2014 as state-run trader Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp is negotiating a new condensate contract to supply an independent petrochemical firm Dragon Aromatics, Reuters has reported. Dragon Aromatics has since the second half of 2013 been buying condensate from Iran as feedstock." (Reuters, “China's March crude imports from Iran up 36.1 pct y/y, 4/21/14) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/sinopec-corp) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/zhuhai-zhenrong) (http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/04/21/china-crude-iran-idUKL3N0ND0M520140421)

"China may buy more Iranian oil next year as a state trader is negotiating a new light crude contract that could raise imports from Tehran to levels not seen since tough Western sanctions were imposed in 2012, running the risk of upsetting Washington…industry sources say Chinese state-trader Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, which was sanctioned by Washington in early 2012 for supplying gasoline to Iran, is in talks with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for a new contract for condensate. However, it was not clear how much of the light crude would be imported through any new term deal. Zhenrong or others could also continue buying condensate through spot deals…Zhenrong, an affiliate of China's defense authorities in the 1990s, acts largely as an import agent for China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, or Sinopec, whose refineries process Iranian crude. Zhenrong also buys a small amount for a PetroChina-controlled refinery. The new condensate contract would be through a subsidiary, Tianjin Zhenrong International Energy Corp, for delivery to independent petrochemical plant Dragon Aromatics in southeast China's Fujian province, the sources said. Dragon Aromatics since around August has been buying from Zhenrong on a spot basis about 66,000 bpd of condensate produced from Iran's giant South Pars gas project. A Zhenrong spokesperson declined to comment on any negotiations and whether they ran the risk of putting the company under pressure from Washington…Of the total for next year, Zhuhai Zhenrong is set to renew its annual supply deal at around 240,000 bpd, not including any new deal for condensate…Zhenrong was set up around 1995 to take oil from Tehran in payment for arms Beijing supplied during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. It has been a commercial state-run enterprise since 1998." (Reuters, "Exclusive: China may raise Iran oil imports with new contract: sources," 12/31/13) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/zhuhai-zhenrong) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/sinopec-corp) (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/31/us-china-iran-zhenrong-idUSBRE9BU03020131231)

“China imported a record volume of Iranian oil last month as its condensate demand increased and as the Persian Gulf nation sought to boost crude exports. China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, bought 3.29 million metric tons of Iranian supplies in April, or about 804,000 barrels a day, data from the General Administration of Customs in Beijing showed today. That’s almost 40 percent more than in March and the most since Jan. 2004 when Bloomberg started compiling the data. Imports averaged 1.79 million tons a month last year. Purchases have risen on an estimated 4 million tons of annual incremental demand from a petrochemicals producer in southern China and Iran’s push to sell more oil, according to ICIS-C1, a commodities researcher based in Shanghai. Dragon Aromatics in Zhangzhou city started a long-term contract in June to buy Iranian condensate, including from the South Pars field, to add to feedstock to its naphtha cracking unit, Amy Sun, an ICIS-C1 analyst in Guangzhou, said by phone today.” (Bloomberg, “China’s Oil Imports From Iran Rise to Record on Condensates Use,” 5/21/14) (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-21/china-s-oil-imports-from-iran-rise-to-record-on-condensates-use.html)

The cargo of one million barrels of South Pars condensate was bought at a discount of about $8 a barrel to dated Brent compared with a $4 discount for a comparable grade low sulphur condensate (LSC) from Qatar, traders said. That implies Dragon is benefitting about $4 million on the cargo it bought from Chinese state-run oil trader Zhuhai Zhenrong, for delivery on Nov. 8 . . . The group is set to win government permission to import condensate, making it the only independent operator with such a permit in China. That allows it to buy the cargoes it wants so long as it uses an agent, or one of the country's handful state-designated traders, to clear them through customs, and pays a commission for the service.

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Dragon Special Resin is part of the Xianglu Dragon Group. Dragon Aromatics is a part the Dragon Special Resin facility.

"China would need to make huge cuts in its Iranian oil imports over the last quarter of 2013 if it is to meet an unofficial target for the year and increase its chances for winning a waiver to U.S. sanctions aimed at Tehran's nuclear programme.China and other importers of Iranian oil have to keep reducing the shipments to win waivers to the U.S. sanctions, but China's intake of Iranian oil is running 1.4 percent higher than last year through the end of September, official customs data showed on Monday…Part of China's problem in making the necessary cuts is the start-up of the independent Dragon Aromatics petrochemical plant in southern China. The plant, owned by a Taiwanese group, started up at the end of July and has become a regular importer of Iranian South Pars condensate, a light crude oil counted in China's crude import data. Dragon has been taking about 2 million barrels, or about 66,000 bpd, of South Pars condensate each month for the last two months and will continue to do so through the end of the year, according to a trade official with direct knowledge of the plant's operations.'Yes, Dragon's purchase of Iranian condensate should be the main reason for the increase,' said another source involved in China oil trade." (Reuters, "China needs big cuts in Iran oil imports to meet 2013 target," 10/21/13) (http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/10/21/china-iran-crude-idINL3N0IB1MS20131021)

"China's February crude oil imports from Iran rose 6 percent from a year ago to 552,613 barrels per day (bpd), customs data showed on Friday, keeping imports in 2014 close to levels before Western sanctions were applied more than two years ago…China's Iranian oil imports have been rising in part due to condensate shipments by independently-run petrochemical firm, Dragon Aromatics, which has since the second half of 2013 been buying condensate from Iran as feedstock. For 2014, China may have trouble holding down its Iranian oil imports as state-run trader Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp is negotiating a new condensate contract.” (Reuters, “China's Feb crude imports from Iran rise 6 pct y/y,” 3/21/14) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/zhuhai-zhenrong) (http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/03/21/china-oil-iran-idINL3N0MH20N20140321)

"Dragon Aromatics has bought its first cargo of condensate from sanctions-hit Iran in preparation for the start of trial runs at one of China's biggest independent petrochemicals complexes, trade sources said.The petrochemical producer, owned by Taiwan's Xianglu Group, snapped up the cargo of super light crude at a deep discount, as Iran struggles to find buyers amid tightening Western sanctions.

'We are currently in negotiations for long-term contracts but we will rely on spot imports for the time being,' said a company source who declined to give further details . . .  A senior trading manager with Dragon Aromatics declined to comment on the origin of the cargo, but confirmed that the firm was set to win quotas to import 4 million tonnes of condensate for 2013 and to cover 500,000 tonnes of imports by end-2012. Dragon Aromatics has been in talks with condensate sellers to secure an annual supply. That will still have to be imported through one of the agents, which include Chinaoil, Sinochem, Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp and Unipec, the trading arm of top state refiner Sinopec Corp . . . Dragon Aromatics is part of the Xianglu Dragon Group which owns synthetic fibre plants in Fujian province." (Reuters, "Dragon Aromatics buys Iran condensate for trial at deep discount-trade" 11/13/12) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/chinaoil) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/sinochem) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/zhuhai-zhenrong) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/unipec) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/sinopec-corp) (http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/dragon-aromatics-buys-iran-condensate-trial-deep-discount-073052409--business.html)