Russian oil shipments to China rose by half year on year in March to a record

Russian oil shipments to China rose by half year on year in March to a record 9.61 million tonnes, or 2.26 million barrels per day. This is according to data released today by China’s customs authority. Russia therefore remained China’s largest oil supplier, Reuters reported.

Exports of Russian energy products to China have risen significantly since Moscow launched its attack on Ukraine in February last year and Western countries imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia. Among other measures, the West introduced a price cap on Russian seaborne oil shipments, limiting Russia’s pool of buyers. Russia has therefore been forced to offer its oil at a steep discount, which Chinese buyers have taken advantage of on a large scale.

For the whole of last year, Saudi Arabia was China’s largest oil supplier. Chinese imports of Saudi oil reached 87.49 million tonnes last year. In the first quarter of this year, they totalled 22.82 million tonnes, while imports of Russian oil reached 25.29 million tonnes. Russian shipments therefore rose by nearly a third year on year in the first quarter, while shipments from Saudi Arabia increased by around six percent.