China May's Oil Imports From Russia Surge To Record High, Surpassing Top Supplier Saudi

Oil and gas tanks are seen at an oil storage facility at a port in Zhuhai, China, 22 October 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song

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Russia overtakes Saudi as top supplier after 19 months behind
Russian imports nearly 2mn bpd in May
Imports from Malaysia more than doubled year/year in May
Customs reports the third Iranian shipment since last December

SINGAPORE, June 20 (Reuters) – China’s crude oil imports from Russia rose 55% yoy to a record level in May, edging out Saudi Arabia as a top supplier as refiners benefited from reduced supplies following sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of the Ukraine.

Imports of Russian oil, including shipments pumped through the East Siberian pipeline in the Pacific Ocean, and sea shipments from Russia’s European and Far Eastern ports totaled nearly 8.42 million tons, according to China’s customs administration.

That’s about 1.98 million barrels per day (bpd), up a quarter from April’s 1.59 million bpd.

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The data, which shows Russia has regained the top position as supplier to the world’s largest crude oil importer after a 19-month hiatus, suggests Moscow is able to find buyers for its oil despite Western sanctions, even though it has had to cut prices.

And while China’s crude oil demand overall has been dampened by COVID-19 restrictions and a slowing economy, top importers including refiner giant Sinopec and trader Zhenhua Oil have announced buying cheaper Russian oil on top of sanctioned supplies from Iran and Venezuela, who allow this, increasingly to reduce competing deliveries from West Africa and Brazil. Continue reading

Saudi Arabia trailed as the second-largest supplier at 7.82 million tonnes, or 1.84 million bpd, in May, down 9% year-on-year. This was down from April’s 2.17 million bpd.

Customs data released on Monday also showed that China imported 260,000 tons of Iranian crude last month, the third shipment of Iranian oil since last December, confirming an earlier Reuters report.

Despite US sanctions on Iran, China continues to take Iranian oil, which is usually passed off as supplies from other countries. Import volumes represent about 7% of China’s total crude oil imports. Continue reading

China’s total crude oil imports rose nearly 12% to 10.8 million bpd in May from a low a year earlier, versus the 2021 average of 10.3 million bpd

Customs reported no imports from Venezuela. State-owned oil companies have shied away from purchases since late 2019 for fear of running afoul of secondary US sanctions.

Imports from Malaysia, which has often been used as a transhipment point for oil from Iran and Venezuela over the past two years, totaled 2.2 million tonnes, steady from April but more than double the year-on-year figure.

Imports from Brazil fell 19% year-on-year to 2.2 million tonnes as the Latin American exporter’s supplies faced cheaper competition from Iranian and Russian casks.

Separately, the data also showed that China’s imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) totaled nearly 400,000 tons last month, up 56% from May 2021.

In the first five months, imports of Russian LNG — mainly from the Sakhalin-2 project in the Far East and Yamal LNG in the Russian Arctic — rose 22% year-on-year to 1.84 million tons, according to customs data.

Below is the detailed breakdown of oil imports with amounts in million tons:

(Ton = 7.3 barrels for crude oil conversion)

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Reporting by Chen Aizhu and Beijing Newsroom; Edited by Tom Hogue and Muralikumar Anantharaman

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