Saudi and Iraqi oil has begun replacing Iranian crude in China as Tehran’s exports to the world’s largest oil importer have plunged under the impact of a US blockade on its ports along the Arabian Gulf, imposed in July, Bloomberg’s Asharq Business website reported on November 15, citing vessel-tracking firm Vortexa.

Iranian oil exports to China fell to less than 100,000 barrels per day in October, down from around 1.4 million barrels per day before the war broke out in late February, Vortexa’s data showed.

The shift is creating an opportunity for major Gulf producers to expand their market shares in China, as the report said that Iranian inventories of crude loaded onto oil tankers and vessels used for floating storage, which Tehran had accumulated in the months before the war and the blockade, are now close to being depleted.

This is reducing its ability to continue meeting Chinese demand from available stockpiles, Vortexa argued.

Chinese buyers of Iranian crude have turned to Russian oil and other non-sanctioned grades, including Venezuelan crude, to make up for the loss of Iranian supplies, the firm added.

However, the firm said, these alternatives have not fully offset Iranian volumes, opening the door for Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and other Gulf producers to capture additional market share in China.