Cheap cargoes and weak refining margins boosted China’s crude oil imports from Russia to a record high in 2024, while imports from the world’s top crude exporter and Russian ally in OPEC+, Saudi Arabia, dipped by 9%, according to official Chinese data compiled by Reuters.
Last year, Chinese refiners continued to purchase lower-priced barrels from Russia and imports of Russian crude rose by 1% to an annual record-high of 2.17 million barrels per day (bpd), the data from the Chinese General Administration of Customs showed on Monday.
The higher imports from Russia highlight the Chinese refiners’ appetite for cheap crude, especially as overall Chinese imports fell in 2024, for the first time in two decades excluding the Covid period.
China’s second-biggest supplier after Russia, Saudi Arabia, however, saw its purchases in the world’s top crude importer slip to 1.57 million bpd, down compared to 1.72 million bpd in 2023.
Malaysia became the third-largest crude oil supplier to China last year, mostly due to the Southeast Asian country acting as a trans-shipment hub for Iranian and Venezuelan cargoes.
The official Chinese data didn’t show any crude imports from Iran, but it is China, especially its independent refiners, that is the biggest buyer of Iranian crude, taking more than 90% of Iran’s total export volumes.
Russia led the Chinese oil suppliers’ list last year, but Saudi Arabia began to regain some market share from Moscow in the last months of 2024, as barrels from Iran and Russia are shrinking amid tightening sanctions on tankers.
At the turn of the new year, the prices of Oman and Dubai crude jumped to a rare premium over Brent Crude, as demand for Middle Eastern oil surged in China and India. The top buyers of Russian crude are now scrambling for alternative supply after the U.S. earlier this month slapped its most aggressive sanctions yet on Russia’s oil export and export logistics.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com’
