While Hormuz uncertainty persists, discount-reliant players may have to look elsewhere
A tanker offloads imported crude oil at Qingdao Port in China’s Shandong province in March 2025. (Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
WATARU SUZUKI and SHOTARO TANI
SHANGHAI/TOKYO — The temporary waiver of U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil threatens to squeeze China’s small, independent refiners, known as teapots, as discounts on the crude narrow.