As the United States leans into sanctions against Venezuelan oil and the administration of contested president Nicolas Maduro, longtime PDVSA buyers have had to look to other Latin American countries with heavier crude to fill the gaps. This has meant a lot of new demand for Brazil’s Petrobras, which is now seeing countries buyers from the U.S. as well as Europe compete for purchase of their Lula crude cargoes as the next best alternative to the heavier Venezuelan grades of fuel. With all of the Lula oil being snapped up, however, some countries have been pushed toward Brazil’s new grade of medium heavy Buzios crude oil, despite problems with the oil’s quality. The most notable of these countries is China, which despite a preference for Lula crude, are now buying Buzios in higher numbers as Lula becomes harder to secure. China’s independent refiners are responsible for a huge portion […]