China’s imports of crude oil from Venezuela dipped to a nearly nine-year low in September as major state-held Chinese companies back out of Venezuelan purchases, looking to avoid fallout from the tightened U.S. sanctions on Venezuela. According to data from China’s General Administration of Customs, as carried by S&P Global Platts , China imported 143,838 barrels per day (bpd) of Venezuelan oil last month, the lowest import volume since December 2010. Chinese buyers are expected to continue to shy away from buying Venezuelan oil through the rest of the year, according to S&P Global Platts. China’s imports from Venezuela in September this year fell by 27.2 percent compared to September 2018, as China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and its listed unit PetroChina have been skipping loadings from Venezuela since August, to avoid running afoul of the U.S. Administration. Amid the tightening U.S. sanctions on Nicolas Maduro’s regime in Venezuela, […]