Bloomberg: After the February sanctions on Russian oil products on the world market, they can be replaced by Chinese ones

China may become the main supplier of oil products to the EU countries after the embargo on sea deliveries of Russian oil products. It will start on February 5.

Bloomberg writes about it.

In just over three weeks, sea shipments of diesel fuel from the European Unionʼs largest external supplier will be all but banned. At the same time, Russia still remains the largest supplier of diesel fuel to the EU. Approximately half of diesel fuel imports to the EU and Great Britain in 2022 will come from Russia.

Last year, the EU imported almost 220 million barrels of diesel fuel from Russia. Replacing it will be a very difficult task, since it is approximately 14 thousand Olympic swimming pools. However, Europe is gradually making progress in this regard.

Supplies from Russia are gradually being reduced there and are being increased from other countries, in particular from Saudi Arabia and India. However, the Middle East and China market will also be available for Europe.

Diesel fuel supplies from China have increased sharply in recent months. Although only a small fraction of these shipments reach Europe, they increase regional supplies. This frees up space for other manufacturers who could theoretically head to Europe.

Diesel fuel exports from China may amount to 400,000-600,000 barrels per day in the first half of 2023. This is approximately the same amount that the EU and Britain currently lack due to sanctions on sea supplies from the Russian Federation.

• In Russia, the budget deficit for 2022 has become one of the largest in history. It reached 3.3 trillion rubles ($47 billion). And oil supplies from Russia in December fell to the lowest level for the entire year 2022. This was caused by EU sanctions on the import of Russian oil and the introduction of a price limit.