"China defies sanctions to make Russia its biggest oil supplier in 2023"

" China defies sanctions to make Russia its biggest oil supplier in 2023 \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u00a0Russia\u00a0leapfrogged Saudi Arabia to become\u00a0China\u2019s\u00a0top crude oil supplier in 2023, data showed on Saturday, as the world\u2019s biggest crude importer defied Western sanctions to purchase vast quantities of discounted oil for its processing plants.\r\n\r\nRussia shipped a record 107.02 million metric tons of\u00a0crude oil\u00a0to China last year, equivalent to 2.14 million barrels per day (bpd), the Chinese customs data showed, far more than other major oil exporters such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq.\r\n\r\nImports from Saudi Arabia, previously China\u2019s largest supplier, fell 1.8% to 85.96 million tons, as the Middle East oil giant lost market share to cheaper Russian crude.\r\n\r\nShunned by many international buyers following Western sanctions over the Kremlin\u2019s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian crude oil traded at significant discounts to international benchmarks for much of last year amid a Western-imposed price cap.\r\n\r\nAccelerating demand from Chinese and Indian refiners for the discounted oil boosted the price of Russian ESPO crude through 2023, pushing past the Group of Seven\u2019s US$60 a barrel price cap imposed in December 2022 as alternative shipping and insurance options to circumvent the sanctions proliferated.\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Reuters Graphics \r\n \r\n\r\nESPO crude shipments for December delivery were priced at a discount of around 50 cents to 20 cent per barrel to the ICE Brent benchmark, versus a US$1 premium for October delivery cargoes and a discount of US$8.50 for shipments delivered in March, according to trading sources.\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\nAt the same time, Saudi Arabia raised prices for its signature Arab Light from July, pushing some refiners to look for cheaper cargoes.\r\n\r\nTo support prices, Saudi Arabia and Russia, two of the world\u2019s top three oil producers, announced output and export cuts last year. Saudi Arabia is\u00a0rolling over\u00a0output cuts of 1 million bpd this quarter, while Russia said it would deepen its cut in exports this year to 500,000 bpd from 300,000 bpd.\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\nChinese refiners use intermediary traders to handle the shipping and insurance of Russian crude to avoid violating the Western sanctions.\r\n\r\nBuyers also use the waters off Malaysia as a trans-shipment point for sanctioned cargoes from Iran and Venezuela. Imports tagged as originating from Malaysia climbed 53.7% last year.\r\n\r\nChina reported no official shipments of Venezuelan crude in December despite an easing of U.S. sanctions on Caracas in October following a deal between President Nicolas Maduro\u2019s administration and its political opposition.\r\n\r\nShipments to China from the U.S. last year surged 81.1% last year despite geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington as U.S. crude production increased.\r\n\r\nChina\u2019s overall crude imports for 2023 rose to a record of 563.99 million metric tons, equivalent to 11.28 million bpd.\r\n\r\nHere is the detailed trade breakdown, with volumes in million metric tons and on-year percentage change calculations by Reuters:\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Country \r\n \r\n December \r\n \r\n % Change \r\n \r\n 2023 Total \r\n \r\n YTD % Change \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Russia \r\n \r\n 9,561,014 \r\n \r\n 47.78 \r\n \r\n 107,024,517 \r\n \r\n 24.10 \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Saudi \r\n \r\n 5,986,945 \r\n \r\n -15.88 \r\n \r\n 85,959,144 \r\n \r\n -1.75 \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Iraq \r\n \r\n 5,129,418 \r\n \r\n 1.37 \r\n \r\n 59,260,931 \r\n \r\n 6.80 \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Malaysia \r\n \r\n 4,646,324 \r\n \r\n -15.80 \r\n \r\n 54,792,821 \r\n \r\n 53.72 \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Oman \r\n \r\n 3,942,273 \r\n \r\n 13.59 \r\n \r\n 39,146,889 \r\n \r\n -0.56 \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n UAE \r\n \r\n 3,635,906 \r\n \r\n -26.58 \r\n \r\n 41,816,902 \r\n \r\n -2.22 \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Brazil \r\n \r\n 3,479,242 \r\n \r\n 16.62 \r\n \r\n 37,745,888 \r\n \r\n 51.40 \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Angola \r\n \r\n 3,035,928 \r\n \r\n 18.23 \r\n \r\n 30,028,071 \r\n \r\n -0.20 \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Kuwait \r\n \r\n 1,912,859 \r\n \r\n -30.94 \r\n \r\n 24,533,168 \r\n \r\n -26.29 \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n US \r\n \r\n 1,156,576 \r\n \r\n 67.97 \r\n \r\n 14,287,367 \r\n \r\n 81.06 \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Iran \r\n \r\n NA \r\n \r\n NA \r\n \r\n NA \r\n \r\n NA \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Venezuela \r\n \r\n NA \r\n \r\n NA \r\n \r\n NA \r\n \r\n NA \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n (metric ton = 7.3 barrels for crude oil conversion) "

"China defies sanctions to make Russia its biggest oil supplier in 2023"

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