Reuters: One of Chinaʼs largest oil companies temporarily refuses Russian oil

One of Chinaʼs largest oil companies is abandoning Russian crude oil for the period from December to mid-February.

Reuters reports this, citing sources.

The Yanchang refinery is a regular buyer of Russian oil, which usually receives one shipment of oil per month. It is usually ESPO or Sokol oil, which is exported to the Far East, one of the traders told Reuters.

Located in the northern landlocked province of Shaanxi, the company can process 348 000 barrels of oil per day and is entitled to an annual import quota of 3.6 million tons, or 26 million barrels.

China and sanctions against Russian oil

The US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on “Lukoil", “Rosneft”, and their subsidiaries on October 23. The list includes more than 30 units of both companies, including oil fields, gas and oil refineries across the country.

In October 2025, Chinese state-owned companies suspended purchases of oil from Russia following US sanctions. In particular, these include “PetroChina”, “Sinopec”, CNOOC, and “Zhenhua Oil”.

China imports nearly 1.4 million barrels of Russian oil daily by sea, with most of that supply going to independent refiners, including smaller companies, who are also likely to temporarily suspend purchases, Reuters reported.

Trade between China and Russia fell by almost 9% in 2025. In particular, Russian exports to China, mainly energy, fell by 5.9%, to $101.2 billion.

Author: Anastasia Zaikova

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