In nine months, China saved at least $10 billion by importing crude oil from countries under Western sanctions.
About this with reference to the data of Vortexa and Kpler tanker trackers and Chinese customs write Reuters.
Since the beginning of the year, Chinese companies have sharply increased their oil imports from Russia, Iran and Venezuela, which are under sanctions, to record levels.
These countries have accounted for a record 25% of China's oil imports since the beginning of the year, up from 21% in 2022 and doubling to 12% in 2020. Oil from sanctioned countries has displaced alternative oil from the Middle East, West Africa and South America from the Chinese market.
China shipped a record 2,765 million barrels per day of crude oil from Iran, Russia and Venezuela in the first nine months of 2023 by sea, according to average data.
From January to September, China received 1,3 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) of oil by sea (Urals brand from the Baltic Sea) and 800 bpd by pipeline (ESPO brand from the Pacific port of Kozmino) from Russia. Marine supplies increased by 400 b/d, or 30%, compared to last year as Europeans ditched Russian oil.
According to Vortexa, total Russian supplies rose by more than 400 bpd from a year earlier from January to September, mainly driven by the Urals, as sanctions caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered a massive diversion of its oil flows from Europe to India. and China.
This year, China saved $4,34 billion by importing Russian oil, according to Reuters calculations.
The calculations also showed that China saved an average of $10 per barrel on imports of Venezuelan oil compared to similar Colombian oil. The country saved roughly $15 a barrel by buying Iranian crude versus Omani crude.
China saved an estimated $4,2 billion by importing a record 1 million barrels per day from Iran, which gave the Chinese a discount of up to $17 a barrel compared to the benchmark Brent. For the same period, which is 60% higher than the peak indicators recorded by Chinese customs in 2017 of 623 thousand barrels per day. Tehran increased production to near maximum levels and offered discounts.
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