{"id":10468,"date":"2024-04-20T11:25:05","date_gmt":"2024-04-20T11:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/?p=10468"},"modified":"2024-04-20T11:25:05","modified_gmt":"2024-04-20T11:25:05","slug":"chinas-imports-of-russian-oil-near-record-high-in-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/10468\/","title":{"rendered":"China’s imports of Russian oil near record high in March"},"content":{"rendered":"

RoydadNaft – <\/a><\/span>\u00a0Russia remained China’s top oil supplier in March, data showed on Saturday, as refiners snapped up stranded Sokol shipments.<\/p>\n

China’s imports from Russia, including supplies via pipelines and sea-borne shipments, jumped 12.5% on the year to 10.81 million metric tons, or 2.55 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.<\/p>\n

That was quite close to the previous monthly record of 2.56 million bpd in June 2023.<\/p>\n

Seven Russian tankers under sanctions offloaded Sokol cargoes in Chinese ports in March, as Russia worked to clear a glut of stranded supply in the wake of tightened U.S. sanctions.<\/div>\n
More than 10 million barrels of the oil supplied by Sakhalin-1, a unit of Rosneft, had been floating in storage over the past three months amid payment difficulties and sanctions on shipping firms and vessels carrying the crude.<\/div>\n
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Stockpiling of Russian crude for storage in strategic reserves by state-owned CNOOC also boosted imports from Russia.<\/div>\n

Data from consultancy Kpler forecast sea-borne shipments from Russia hitting a record high of 1.82 million bpd, including 440,000 bpd of Sokol and 967,000 of ESPO.<\/p>\n

Russia was China’s top supplier throughout 2023, shipping 2.14 million bpd despite Western sanctions and a price cap following the Kremlin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

In coordination with other OPEC+ members, Russia opted to roll forward a voluntary reduction in crude oil output of 300,000 bpd into the first quarter of the year to support energy prices.<\/p>\n

Imports from Saudi Arabia, previously China’s largest supplier, totalled 6.3 million tons in March, or 1.48 million bpd, down 29.3% on the same period last year.<\/p>\n

Riyadh has said it would extend its voluntary cut of 1 million bpd through the end of June, leaving its output at around 9 million bpd.<\/div>\n
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The world’s top exporter kept the March official selling price of its flagship Arab Light to Asia at $1.50 over the Oman\/Dubai average as the Kingdom sought to secure market share.<\/div>\n

January-March imports from Malaysia, a trans-shipment point for sanctioned cargoes from Iran and Venezuela, soared 39.2% on the year to 13.7 million tons, or 3.23 million bpd.<\/p>\n

The data showed 375,296 tons of imports from Venezuela, following a rare shipment of 352,455 tons of Venezuelan crude in February amid a temporary relaxation of U.S. sanctions on Caracas. Sanctions were re-imposed from Thursday after the U.S. said President Nicolas Maduro had failed to meet his election commitments.<\/div>\n

Customs recorded no imports from Iran.<\/p>\n

Below lists imports from main suppliers with volumes in million metric tons and year-on-year percentage change calculations by Reuters:<\/p>\n

\n
\n\n<\/thead>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Country<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Amount in March<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

% Change<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

YTD Total<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

YTD % Change<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Russia<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

10.81<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

12.5%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

28.53<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

12.8%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Saudi<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

6.30<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

-29.25%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

19.79<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

-13.3%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Iraq<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

5.42<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

-10.7%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

15.57<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

-0.8%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Malaysia<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4.76<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4.5%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

13.70<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

39.2%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

UAE<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4.06<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

9.4%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

10.46<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1.7%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Oman<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

3.62<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

-5.0%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

10.11<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

3.7%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Brazil<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

3.58<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

-1.5%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

9.52<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

-3.9%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Angola<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

2.35<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

19.6%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

7.03<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

12.6%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Kuwait<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1.16<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

-65.8%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

3.73<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

-48.2%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

US<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0.43<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

-52.6%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

2.21<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

-13.4%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Venezuela<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0.38<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

N\/A<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0.73<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

N\/A<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Iran<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0.00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

N\/A<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0.00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

N\/A<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

(ton = 7.3 barrels for crude oil conversion)<\/p>\n

Updated on