China's Unipec snaps up North Sea crude for May delivery amid weak Europe demand

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Unipec, the trading arm of Asia's largest refiner Sinopec, has swept up 8 million barrels of North Sea crude Johan Svedrup to be delivered in May amid weak demand in Europe, several trade sources said.

The volume is set to be the highest since February 2022 when 8.3 million barrels of the grade headed for China, according to Kpler data.

Johan Svedrup, which used to be popular with Chinese buyers, has been diverted over the past year to meet European demand due to Western sanctions after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Unipec purchased the cargoes at about $2.50 a barrel above dated Brent on a cost and freight basis, two of the sources said.

Another source said Johan Svedrup will be replacing some of the April-loading Omani crude which Unipec sold during the Platts Market on Close process last month.

Sverdrup's production was ramped up last year to 755,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), more than the planned 660,000 bpd, after the second phase of development came on stream. The field produces medium-heavy crude similar to Russian Urals and Omani oil.

(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Savio D'Souza)

By Florence Tan