The Guangdong refinery in Southern China was a joint venture with state-run Petróleos de Venezuela SA, and Merey was supposed to make up half its crude supply. In 2019, PetroChina dropped PDVSA from the project because of the deteriorating financial status of the company.

The refinery started commissioning in early 2023 and PetroChina sourced heavy crude oil supplies from Canada, Colombia and Ecuador for the plant after US sanctions disrupted access to Merey. The Venezuelan grade is now being offered at close to a $10 discount to ICE Brent, according to traders.

The very large crude carrier Elysia — which is carrying the cargo for PetroChina — is due to discharge at Jieyang port on Saturday, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The vessel departed Jose oil terminal in early February.