Oil’s Recovery Under Threat as Tankers Run in Circles Off China

In late February, the tanker Jag Lok loaded oil from Equatorial Guinea in western Africa and set sail for the Chinese port of Qingdao, the gateway to the world’s newest buyers of crude, a journey of more than 12,000 nautical miles.

After reaching its destination in early April, the ship churned in circles for 20 days before it got a chance to deliver its cargo. That’s because the port in Shandong province was struggling to handle a record number of vessels arriving to supply the privately held refineries called “teapots” that dot the region, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-24/oil-s-recovery-under-threat-as-tankers-run-in-circles-off-china