Sinochem Hongrun Petrochemical Co Ltd, a Shandong-based independent refiner and fuel exporter, plans to open a Singapore trading office early next year, the latest of China’s so-called "teapot" refiners to seek a presence in the global oil market.

The new Singapore operation will be headed by Lian Liping, a senior official at state-run Sinochem, which owns a stake in Hongrun’s 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) Shandong plant in eastern China.

Hongrun has also hired Wang Wei, a Singapore-based trader with Brightoil Petroleum and previously on the crude desk at state-run Sinochem, while its Shandong-based trader Han Shuai is also expected to move to Singapore. All three confirmed their moves. A Sinochem press official said Lian was also appointed deputy general manager of Sinochem Hongrun. A Shandong-based Hongrun official confirmed the setting up of the Singapore operation.

The freeing up of China’s crude trade in late 2015 by giving import permits to independents has led to a hiring spree as the teapots set up their own trading operations, luring traders, marketers and risk managers away from established state-owned giants.

Several have set up offices in Singapore, including Shandong Dongming Petrochemical Group and Shandong Chambroad Petrochemicals Co.

An operation in the Asian oil hub will allow the teapots to have more direct reach to global crude oil suppliers and customers for fuel exports, and also broaden access to bank financing, traders said.