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Russia has become China’s largest supplier of oil after the country sold Beijing crude oil at a discount amid sanctions on the war in Ukraine.
Russian oil imports rose 55% from a year ago to a record high in May, shifting Saudi Arabia as China’s largest supplier.
China has boosted Russian oil purchases despite reduced demand from Covid curb and a slowing economy.
In February, China and Russia announced that their friendship “had no borders” and Chinese companies, including state-owned refining giant Sinopec and state-owned Zhenhua Oil, have increased their purchases of Russian crude oil in recent months after offering discounts. large as buyers in Europe and the US shunned Russian energy in line with sanctions for its war against Ukraine. .
According to data from the Chinese General Administration of Customs, imports to China, which include supplies pumped through the East Siberian Pacific pipeline and shipments by sea, totaled about 8.42 million tonnes last month.
This pushed Saudi Arabia, once China’s largest source of crude oil, into second place with 7.82 million tonnes.
In March, the US and Britain said they would ban Russian oil as the European Union worked to end its dependence on Russian gas as the West boosted its economic response to Ukraine’s occupation.
Energy exports are a vital source of income for Russia, but the move is likely to affect Western consumers as well. Overall, Russian oil and gas exports are declining, and Moscow’s revenues from energy sales have also fallen from a peak of over $ 1 billion a day in March.
But revenue still exceeded the cost of the war in Ukraine in the first 100 days – with CREA estimating that Russia is spending about $ 876 million a day on the invasion.
Monday’s figures also showed that China imported 260,000 tonnes of Iranian crude oil last month, the third shipment of Iranian oil since last December. China has continued to buy Iranian oil despite US sanctions on Tehran.
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