20 Aug 2024 | 05:55 UTC

CHINA DATA: July crude imports from Russia lowest since Dec 2022 at 1.76 mil b/d

Highlights

Russian supplies 248,000 b/d more than Saudi Arabia in July

Jan-July Russian shipments up 2.7% at 2.15 mil b/d

Canadian crude up 20% on month as PetroChina, Sinopec take AWB

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China's crude imports from Russia fell further to a 19-month low of 1.76 million barrels per day (7.46 million metric tons) in July, General Administration of Customs data showed Aug. 20.

It was a fourth straight month of decline and the first time it dropped below the 2 million b/d mark since July 2023. The previous low was 1.56 million b/d in December 2022, when buyers pulled back as the price cap on Russian barrels took effect.

Despite the fall, Russia remained the top crude supplier for China in July, supplying 248,000 b/d more than Saudi Arabia, GAC data showed.

In the first seven months of 2024, shipments from Russia averaged 2.15 million b/d, rising 2.7% year on year, while cargoes from Saudi Arabia slipped 10.7% year on year to 1.61 million b/d.

Excluding Iran, the Middle East's market share declined to 45% in January-July, from 47.9% a year ago, as shipments fell 8.8% to 4.92 million b/d. The Commonwealth of Independent States expanded the market share to 20.2% during the period, from 19.8% a year ago, although supplies edged down 0.8% year on year to 2.21 million b/d, GAC data showed.

From North America, barrels from the US dropped 16.3% to 247,000 b/d (1.04 MMt) from the one-year high of 295,000 b/d in June. However, shipments from Canada gained 20.1% month on month to 188,000 b/d (797,089 metric tons) as PetroChina and Sinopec took Access Western Blend via the newly launched Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline.

GAC releases data in metric tons, which Commodity Insights converts to barrels using a 7.33 conversion factor.

China's top crude suppliers (million metric tons):

Jul-24 Jul-23 Change Jun-24 % change
Russia 7.46 8.06 -7.5% 8.43 -11.5%
Saudi Arabia 6.41 5.64 13.6% 6.82 -5.9%
Malaysia 6.21 3.87 60.5% 5.90 5.1%
Iraq 4.63 5.40 -14.2% 5.27 -12.1%
Oman 3.34 3.49 -4.3% 3.03 10.2%
Brazil 3.09 2.75 12.6% 2.83 9.4%
UAE 2.25 3.51 -36.0% 2.36 -4.7%
Angola 2.11 2.44 -13.5% 2.93 -27.9%
Kuwait 1.38 2.27 -39.3% 1.35 2.0%
US 1.04 0.68 52.4% 1.21 -13.5%
Total* 42.34 43.68 -3.1% 46.45 -8.9%
Total* mil b/d 10.01 10.33 -3.1% 11.35 -11.8%
Jul-24 Jul-23 Change
Russia 62.58 60.65 3.2%
Saudi Arabia 46.79 52.15 -10.3%
Iraq 36.14 34.93 3.5%
Malaysia 35.68 29.44 21.2%
Oman 23.44 23.04 1.7%
Brazil 22.46 21.21 5.9%
UAE 21.20 25.03 -15.3%
Angola 16.36 15.24 7.3%
Kuwait 9.30 14.92 -37.7%
Qatar 6.03 5.92 1.9%
Total* 317.81 325.70 -2.4%
Total* mil b/d 10.94 11.26 -2.9%

Source: General Administration of Customs

Editor:

Nur syahirah Abdullah