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Singapore bunker supplier Brightoil Petroleum (S’pore) Pte. Ltd. to be disposed by parent company

‘It is most appropriate and in the Shareholders’ interest to delineate the Group from BOPS through disposal of the Company’s interest in BOPS,’ says Board of Brightoil.
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Singapore bunker supplier Brightoil Petroleum (S’pore) Pte. Ltd. (BOPS), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Brightoil Petroleum (Holdings) Limited (Brightoil/Company), will be disposed at a future date, says the Board at Brightoil.

“The business operation of the BOPS was ceased,” it stated on Friday (31 January) in an update on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

“In view of the above issues and with a view to resume trading which would bring best return to Shareholders, the Board considers that it is most appropriate and in the Shareholders’ interest to delineate the Group from BOPS through disposal of the Company’s interest in BOPS.

“After the proposed Disposal of BOPS, the Remaining Group would comprise mainly the upstream oil and gas production business, the business model of which is different from the oil/gas trading business of BOPS.”

The update described key findings of a forensic review conducted by RSM Corporate Advisory (Hong Kong) Limited (RSM) regarding certain oil trading transactions of BOPS.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (HK) (PwC), the former auditor of Brightoil, earlier expressed  concerns in relation to certain transitions made between BOPS and several specific customers where seven were new customers to BOPS.

PwC had made the following observations:

  1. nine of the Subject Customers might be related owing to common registered and/or correspondence addresses;
  2. the corresponding purchases of the sales transactions with the Subject Customers were made from five Subject Suppliers, including three of the Subject Customers, Shenzhen Brightoil Group Co Ltd. (SZBO), owned and controlled by Dr. Sit, the ultimate controlling shareholder of Brightoil, and another entity;
  3. there were multiple transactions of potentially the same cargos of oil; and
  4. there were substantial amount of accounts receivables due from the Subject Customers outstanding as at 30 June 2017 whereas other substantial sums of accounts receivable were netted off against accounts payables due to SZBO via tri-parties agreements.

In its review, RSM noted SZBO being involved in various back-to-back transactions providing discounts ranging from 3% to 10% in BOPS’s purchase transactions, which directly translated to the profit of BOPS.

While BOPS’s profit retained would be financially beneficial to the Group, the discount given by SZBO did not appear to be at arm’s length.

In addition, other than SZBO, RSM noted certain customers were also involved in back-to-back transactions, including, the “structured deals” which the relevant parties gained nil or relatively insignificant profit from them.

“This leads to the next matter as to whether the trades in the structured deals were dealt or negotiated simultaneously, perhaps pre-arranged or pre-matched,” stated the update.

“If this was not pre-arranged, the counterparties would have the liberty to find the next buyer down the chain, and hence the transactions might not have resulted in circular transactions.

“If the trades were indeed dealt simultaneously as if planned or pre-arranged, RSM found certain indication during the forensic review which might suggest that the Group or the SZBO Group had managed (or at least had knowledge) to get the counterparties to enter into the trades.

“Since the Group have ceased or substantially reduced many of its trading business since 2018 and most management of BOPS have resigned.

“The current management has no knowledge but suggested that this would not be possible and based on the information currently available, RSM is unable to ascertain or form a conclusive opinion at this stage.”

The full disclosure of RSM, remedial actions to be taken by the Board of Brightoil, and more, can be found in the following link here.

Related: Brightoil publishes unaudited financial results for FY 2017, 2018, 2019
Related: PricewaterhouseCoopers resigns as auditors of Brightoil Petroleum
Related: HKSE probes ‘management integrity’ of Brightoil Petroleum Holdings
Related: Brightoil faces $161 million claim from China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering
Related: Official: Dr Sit Kwong Lam leaves Brightoil Petroleum Holdings
Related: Petrolimex Singapore wins USD 30 million bankruptcy order against ex-Brightoil Chairman
Related: Hong Kong: Dr Sit Kwong Lam returns to Brightoil as Strategic Adviser

Earlier developments of Brightoil (since late 2017 to date) can be found in the search results here. 

 

Photo credit: Brightoil
Published: 4 February, 2019

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Winding up

Hengli Petrochemical’s ex-Singapore trading arm faces winding up application

In April, China’s Hengli Group reportedly reorganised the shareholding structure of its Singapore-based trading arm shortly after the United States imposed sanctions on its refinery unit.
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August 26, 2026

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Singapore High Court

An application for the winding up of Hengli Petrochemical International Pte Ltd, the former Singapore trading arm of Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, is scheduled to be heard at 10am on 4 September, according to a Monday (24 August) notice on the Government Gazette.

The application was filed by Dalian Hengli New Energy Sales Co Ltd, a creditor of the company, on 14 August and will be heard at the High Court of Singapore.

In May, it was reported that Hengli Petrochemical International dismissed some employees, with some workers being laid off while others were offered positions in other entities. 

In April, China’s Hengli Group reportedly reorganised the shareholding structure of its Singapore-based trading arm shortly after the United States imposed sanctions on its refinery unit.

On 24 April, US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned China-based independent teapot refinery Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co Ltd, a unit of Hengli Petrochemical, saying it purchased billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil.

The company shifted most of the ownership of Hengli Petrochemical International to Dalian Changxing International Trade, a firm backed by a local Chinese government entity.

The Singapore unit was last reported to be 95% owned by this new shareholder, while Hengli Petrochemical’s Dalian refinery retains a 5% stake. Previously, the refinery had full ownership of the Singapore entity.

It was reported that Hengli Petrochemical denied it has engaged in any trade with Iran. 

The notice stated that any creditor or contributory of the company desiring to support or oppose the making of an order on the winding up application may appear at the time of hearing by himself or his counsel for that purpose.

A copy of the winding up application will be furnished to any creditor or contributory of the company requiring the copy of the winding up application by the undersigned on payment of the regulated charge for the same.

The Applicant’s address is No. 551, Pincui Road, Changxing Island Economic Zone, Dalian Liaoning Province, China.

The Applicant’s solicitors are M/S ASIALEGAL LLC of 1 Coleman Street, #07-02A, The Adelphi, Singapore 179803.

Related: Hengli’s former Singapore trading arm begins staff layoffs ahead of potential May shutdown
Related: Hengli shifts ownership of Singapore trading arm in wake of US sanctions
Related: US sanctions China’s second-largest teapot refinery for purchasing Iranian oil

 

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 26 August, 2026

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Sanctions

US targets five bunker companies in latest sanctions campaign against Iran

US sanctioned Hong Kong-based Shipoil Limited and its sister companies, Dubai-based Shipoil FZCO and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC as well as two UAE-based companies.

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The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Monday (24 August) sanctioned five bunker companies, alleging they supplied marine fuel to vessels carrying Iranian crude oil and to ships linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).

US reportedly imposed sanctions on IRISL in late 2019, describing it as “the preferred shipping line for Iranian proliferators and procurement agents”, which included transporting items intended for Iran’s ballistic missile programme.

“Sanctioned Iranian actors, to include those associated with its armed forces, rely on a vast network of shipping facilitators in multiple jurisdictions to enable the transportation and delivery of Iranian crude oil to markets in East Asia, to include vessel brokers, bunkering service providers, and financial intermediaries,” US OFAC said in a statement.

Since at least 2023, US OFAC said Hong Kong-based Shipoil Limited and its sister companies, Dubai-based Shipoil FZCO and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC—operated by Greek nationals Almpertos “Alberto” Tsoris and Georgios “George” Tsoris—coordinated with “sanctioned Iranian actors” including the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), to provide bunkering services to vessels carrying Iranian crude oil and other petroleum products.  

In 2026, Alberto Tsoris allegedly coordinated with NITC and the Shamkhani network via Shipoil FZCO and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC to provide bunkering to the sanctioned oil tanker MEDNA (IMO: 9281683), formerly known as the ANTHEA and SIRI, a vessel which has carried crude oil for Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff. 

Similarly, George Tsoris used Shipoil FZCO and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC to provide vessel bunkering services to a mix of subsidiaries and front companies for IRISL. In 2026, UAE-based Unique Oasis Shipping Services LLC and Target Horizon Shipping LLC collaborated with Shipoil Limited and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC to provide “hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of bunkering services to an IRISL-linked vessel”.  

In mid-2026, George Tsoris provided bunkering services to the sanctioned IRISL vessel BEHTA in coordination with IRISL subsidiary, UAE-based Good Luck Shipping LLC, and Unique Oasis Shipping Services LLC.

According to US OFAC, Shipoil Limited, Shipoil FZCO, and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC operate within the same corporate network, share company leadership, and transfer funds between themselves. 

“Shipoil Limited has transferred millions of dollars to Shipoil FZCO,” it said.

Almpertos Tsoris, Shipoil FZCO, and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC were designated pursuant to Executive Order 13902 for operating in the petroleum sector of the Iranian economy.  Shipoil Limited is being designated pursuant to Executive Order for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Shipoil FZCO.

Georgios Tsoris, Good Luck Shipping LLC, Unique Oasis Shipping Services LLC, and Target Horizon Shipping LLC are being designated pursuant to Executive Order 13382 for having provided, or attempted to provide, financial, material, technological, or other support for, or goods or services in support of, IRISL.

 

Photo credit: tommao wang on Unsplash
Published: 26 August, 2026

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LNG Bunkering

CIMC SOE starts construction of two LNG bunkering vessels for GSX Energy

The two 20,000-cubic-metre vessels are the third and fourth in a series of four 20,000-cbm LNG bunkering vessels that CIMC Pacific Offshore is constructing for GSX Energy.
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CIMC SOE starts construction of two LNG bunkering vessels for GSX Energy

Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering Co., Ltd. (CIMC SOE) on Friday (21 August) held a groundbreaking ceremony for two 20,000-cubic-metre LNG bunkering vessels being built for GSX Energy.

The two vessels are the third and fourth in a series of four 20,000-cbm LNG bunkering vessels that CIMC Pacific Offshore is constructing for GSX Energy.

Construction of the first vessel began in May, while the second vessel commenced construction on 10 August.

The vessels are 159 metres long, with a beam of 25 metres and a design speed of 13 knots. Each will be equipped with a Wärtsilä dual-fuel main engine and a 1,300 kW shaft generator to meet power requirements during normal operations. A high-voltage shore power system can also be installed at a later stage.

“The simultaneous commencement of construction on both vessels marks a new phase of accelerated construction for this series of projects, fully demonstrating CIMC SOE’s construction capabilities and project management expertise,” CIMC SOE said.

 

Photo credit: Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering
Published: 26 August, 2026

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