Russia becomes largest oil supplier to China
In 2023, Russia supplied 107 million tonnes of oil to China and became China’s largest oil supplier.
Reuters reports this with reference to the Chinese customs, Censor.NET citing Ukrinform.
Last year, Russia supplied China with a record 107 million tonnes of crude oil, equivalent to 2.14 million barrels per day (bpd), which is much more than other major oil exporters such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Imports from Saudi Arabia, which in previous years was the largest supplier of this resource to China, fell by 1.8% to 85.96 million tonnes due to cheaper Russian oil.
Russian crude, which was abandoned by many international buyers after Western sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, traded at significant discounts to international benchmarks for most of last year.
However, a surge in demand from Chinese and Indian refiners for cheap Russian ESPO crude oil has led to a rise in prices. According to trade sources, ESPO crude oil for December delivery was priced at a discount of about 50 to 20 cents per barrel to the comparable ICE Brent, while the discount for October delivery was $1, and for March delivery was $8.50.
Despite the geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington, crude oil supplies to China from the United States increased by 81.1% in 2023 amid rising US production.
China's total crude oil imports last year rose to a record high of almost 564 million tonnes, or 11.3 million barrels per day.
