Shares of China's state-owned oil giants surged at midday Tuesday as analysts predict that the country's stockpiles will insulate it from escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Shanghai-listed shares of PetroChina (SHA:601857, HKG:0857), Sinopec Oilfield Service (SHA:600871, HKG:1033) and CNOOC (SHA:600938, HKG:0883) jumped 10% at midday trade on Tuesday. In Hong Kong, Sinopec surged 33%, Petrochina jumped almost 4%, while CNOOC rose nearly 3%.
Chinese refiners have enough oil storage after Beijing stockpiled crude for over a year, enough to weather the U.S.-Israeli-Iran crisis, Bloomberg News reported, citing Jorge León, Rystad Energy's head of geopolitical analysis.
Over 46 million barrels of Iranian crude are currently on vessels in Asia, with 80% of those ships anchored off the Chinese coast and in the Singapore Strait, Bloomberg reported, citing data from Kpler.
Separately, Reuters reported, citing Vortexa estimates that China has 78 days' worth of imports, which equate to 900 million barrels in strategic inventories.
However, some traders warned that a prolonged conflict could eventually exhaust commercial stockpiles, the report said.
As of 11 pm ET, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil jumped 1.6% to $72.33 per barrel, extending the 6.3% increase at Monday's close, while May Brent oil was up 2.1% at $79.35 per barrel, after closing up 6.7%.
(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)