Reuters: Last year, Russia became the largest supplier of oil to China

Russia became the largest supplier of crude oil to China in 2023, overtaking Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

This is reported by Reuters.

According to Chinese customs, Russia shipped a record 107 million tons of crude oil to China last year, or 2.14 million barrels per day — many times more than major oil exporters Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Saudi Arabia used to be the largest supplier of oil to China. Imports from there fell 1.8% to 85.96 million tonnes as Russian oil is cheaper.

After the sanctions due to the invasion of Ukraine, most countries avoided Russian oil, so the Russian Federation sold it at deep discounts.

However, a jump in demand from Chinese and Indian oil refiners for cheap Russian ESPO oil led to an increase in its prices.

Discounts for December ESPO crude were about 20-50 cents a barrel, compared with a discount of $1 in October and $8.5 in March, according to trade sources.

Chinese refiners use intermediaries to ship and insure Russian crude to avoid violating Western sanctions.

Despite geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington, crude oil shipments to China from the United States increased by 81.1% in 2023 amid rising U.S. production.

Chinaʼs total crude oil imports last year rose to a record nearly 564 million tons, or 11.3 million barrels per day.

• In December of last year, it was reported that Russiaʼs monthly income from oil exports is now greater than before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In October 2023, net income from Russian oil reached $11.3 billion, which is 31% of the total income of the Russian budget for the month. This is a record number since May 2022.