Trafigura has extended the credit period for two independent Chinese refiners to buy crude, marking a more aggressive push by the global commodity trader to feed the growing appetite of so-called "teapot" refiners to import oil, sources said.

Trafigura has sold at least 3 million barrels of Latin American crude, worth around $125 million at current benchmark prices, to teapots Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co Ltd and Huifeng Petrochemical Group, according to three trading sources with knowledge of the transactions.

Delivered in May and June, Trafigura allowed the buyers to pay for the cargoes 90 days after loading, said these sources. Normally suppliers offer a tighter 30 to 60 days to make payment.

Teapots, which have boosted their imports after Beijing granted them import permits, are hungry to secure financing but the rush to purchase by the relatively inexperienced buyers has increased trading risks with cases when deals have soured.

One trader with knowledge of the recent Trafigura deals said that these type of deals should suit the Swiss trading house given its extensive operations but other suppliers might not be prepared to conduct similar trades.

"We will look very closely at how these deals unfold," another source, a senior oil banker, said.

A Trafigura spokeswoman declined to comment when asked to confirm these deals.