BEIJING/SINGAPORE: China’s Sinochem plans to open a trading office in the US, drawn by the opportunity to trade growing production in the Americas, five sources with knowledge of the matter said on Friday.
The state-run oil and chemical trader’s plan to open an office in Houston would seek to exploit rising US crude production, which could prompt crude exports to rise by 45 percent in 2018 from last year, analysts said last week. Sinochem could also use the office to meet growing opportunities to supply China’s independent refineries.
The proposed office is expected to start operating later in the first half of this year with three to five staff initially, they said. Sinochem had a US oil trading office that closed about 20 years ago.
Sinochem crude oil trader Zhu Yibing, currently trading North and South American crude from London, will move to the new office in Houston, the sources said.
“US is where everyone is setting up offices ... with growing supplies from the US, there will be plenty of barrels available for trading,” said a company source.
Bigger domestic rivals Sinopec and PetroChina both have trading operations in Houston. Unipec, the trading arm of Asia’s biggest refiner Sinopec, is the region’s largest buyer of US crude oil.
Sinochem did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Major oil companies and trading houses are bulking up US operations to market rising crude oil production from onshore US shale resources and offshore fields in the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil.
Sinochem’s new office is expected to market its equity production from South America, previously handled from London. The grades include Ecuadorean Napo, Colombian Vasconia and Brazilian Peregrino that are considered so-called heavy crudes.
Marketing of the firm’s equity shale oil output in west Texas could also fall under the new office’s purview, said a second source familiar with the plan.
In 2013, parent company Sinochem Group bought a 40 percent stake in Pioneer Natural Resources’ Wolfcamp shale acreage, in the Permian Basin, for $1.7 billion. Its equity output of about 20,000 barrels a day is currently marketed by Pioneer, said another source from the company.
Earlier this month, Sinochem signed an oil procurement and marketing deal with chemical company Dalian Hengli Group, which will start a new refinery in the fourth quarter.
US crude exports are expected to jump this year to 1.5 million barrels per day, about 45 percent higher than 2017, driven by demand from Europe and Asia, analysts and traders said at an energy conference in Houston last week.
China’s Sinochem to open US trading offices as Americas oil output surges
China’s Sinochem to open US trading offices as Americas oil output surges
Closing Bell: Saudi stocks slip as Tadawul falls 1% amid broad market weakness
RIYADH: Saudi stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, with the Tadawul All Share Index closing down 108.14 points, or 1.03 percent, at 10,381.51.
The broader decline was reflected across major indices. The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index slipped 0.78 percent to 1,378.00, while Nomu, the parallel market index, fell 1 percent to 23,040.79.
Market breadth was strongly negative on the main board, with 237 stocks falling compared to just 24 gainers. Trading activity remained robust, with 164.7 million shares changing hands and a total traded value of SR3.19 billion ($850.6 million).
Among the gainers, SEDCO Capital REIT Fund led, rising 2.73 percent to SR6.77, followed by Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co., which gained 2.69 percent to SR20.20.
National Medical Care Co. added 1.72 percent to close at SR141.60, while Alyamamah Steel Industries Co. and Thimar Advertising, Public Relations and Marketing Co. advanced 1.57 percent and 1.13 percent, respectively.
Losses were led by Al Masar Al Shamil Education Co., which tumbled 8.36 percent to SR24.65. Raoom Trading Co.fell 6.75 percent to SR64.20, while Alkhaleej Training and Education Co. dropped 6.60 percent to SR18.12 and Naqi Water Co. declined 5.51 percent to SR54.00. Gulf General Cooperative Insurance Co. closed 5.44 percent lower at SR3.65.
On the announcement front, Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co. signed a multiyear insurance agreement with Saudi Electricity Co. to provide various coverages, expected to positively impact its financial results over the 2025–2026 period. The deal will run for three years and two months and is within the company’s normal course of business.
Meanwhile, Bupa Arabia for Cooperative Insurance Co. announced a one-year health insurance contract with Saudi National Bank, valued at SR330.2 million, covering the bank’s employees and their families from January 2026. Despite the sizable contract, Bupa Arabia shares fell 0.8 percent to close at SR137, weighed down by the broader market weakness.
In contrast, United Cooperative Assurance Co. revealed an extension of its engineering insurance agreement with Saudi Binladin Group for the Grand Mosque expansion in Makkah. The contract value exceeds 20 percent of the company’s gross written premiums based on its latest audited financials and is expected to support results through 2026. However, the stock came under selling pressure, ending the session down 4.51 percent at SR3.39.
