BEIJING: Saudi Arabia regained the spot as China’s prime crude provider within the first two months of 2022, having been leapfrogged by Russia in December, whereas Russian shipments dropped 9% as a minimize in import quotas led impartial refiners to reduce purchases.
Arrivals of Saudi crude totaled 14.61 million tonnes in January-February, equal to 1.81 million barrels per day (bpd), down from 1.86 million bpd a 12 months earlier, information from the Basic Administration of Customs confirmed on Sunday.
Imports from Russia totaled 12.67 million tonnes within the two months, or 1.57 million bpd. That compares to 1.72 million bpd within the corresponding 2021 interval.
Demand for Russia’s flagship ESPO crude from Chinese language impartial refineries, often known as teapots, was hit by Beijing’s crackdown on tax evasion and unlawful buying and selling of import quotas.
The federal government additionally minimize its first batch of 2022 crude import allowances to teapots, aiming to get rid of inefficient refining capability.
Imports from Russia may tumble in March as patrons worldwide shun its cargoes within the wake of the intensifying Ukraine disaster. However Reuters reported that Russian producer Surgutneftegaz was working with China to bypass Western sanctions and sustain oil gross sales. Learn full story
Sunday’s customs information confirmed that 259,937 tonnes of Iranian crude oil arrived in China in January, across the similar degree as in December 2021, the primary imports recorded by official Chinese language information since December 2020.
The shipments got here as Tehran and Western nations maintain talks on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal, pointing to a potential lifting of US sanctions on Iranian oil exports. Learn full story
No Iranian cargo have been recorded by Chinese language customs in February.
China’s official information additionally confirmed no imports from Venezuela, which is beneath US sanctions as effectively, in January and February.
Right here is the detailed breakdown of commerce, with volumes in metric tones:
|
Nation |
Jan-Feb |
y/y pct |
|
Saudi Arabia |
14,607,870 |
-3 |
|
Russia |
12,667,252 |
-9.1 |
|
Iraq |
10,019,027 |
-0.4 |
|
Oman |
8,939,072 |
14.4 |
|
Kuwait |
6,323,727 |
50.2 |
|
Angola |
6,087,055 |
-9.7 |
|
United Arab Emirates |
5,906,030 |
12.7 |
|
Brazil |
4,295,928 |
-12 |
|
Malaysia |
2,162,063 |
-12.4 |
|
United States |
1,866,176 |
-45 |
|
Iran |
259,937 |
N/A |
|
Venezuela |
N/A |
N/A – Reuters |