Page 7 - AsianOil Week 04 2023
P. 7

AsianOil                              PIPELINES & TRANSPORT                                         AsianOil











































       Saudi Arabia stays main crude supplier




       to China in 2022, Russian imports jump





        CHINA            SAUDI Arabia remained top crude oil sup-  Crude oil imports from Malaysia nearly doubled
                         plier to China during 2022, with deliveries  during 2022 from their 2021 total. GAC data
       Saudi Arabia and   averaging 1.75mn barrels per day, or a total of  show Malaysia accounting for 35.68mn tonnes
       Russia have long   87.49mn tonnes, according to data released by  during 2022, up by 92.6% from 18.53mn tonnes
       jostled for the top spot   China’s General Administration of Customs  in 2021.
       in China’s oil import   (GAC).                           Iranian and Venezuela crudes, both in US
       market.             The total volume was slightly down by 0.1%  sanctions crosshairs, are reportedly being
                         from Saudi crude imports during 2021, which  shipped to Malaysia, where they are blended and
                         amounted to 87.56mn tonnes. According to the  then sold on to China. Some Russian crude is
                         GAC, China’s total oil imports for 2022 declined  also thought to be in the mix. China is acknowl-
                         0.9% to 508.28mn tonnes against 512.92mn  edged as the largest foreign buyer of Iranian
                         tonnes in 2021, or the equivalent of 10.21mn  crude oil.
                         bpd imported last year compared with 10.30mn   During the month of December 2022, Saudi
                         bpd in 2021.                         Arabia supplied China with 7.12mn tonnes,
                           China’s number two supplier remained Rus-  up by 7.4% on the 6.62mn tonnes in Decem-
                         sia, which has been selling discounted barrels  ber 2021. Russian crude imports were down to
                         to Chinese refiners as a means of coping with  6.47mn tonnes in December 2022 compared
                         international sanctions against sales of Rus-  with 7.24mn tonnes for December 2021 (before
                         sian crude in response to Moscow’s invasion of  the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022).
                         Ukraine. China imported an average of 1.72mn  Malaysian imports rose to 5.52mn tonnes in
                         bpd of Russia crude last year, or 86.25mn tonnes,  December 2022 against 3.04mn tonnes the year
                         according to the GAC, up by 8.3% from 79.64mn  before.
                         tonnes in 2021.                        China’s total crude imports for the month of
                           Other Middle Eastern suppliers continued to  December amounted to 48.07mn tonnes, up by
                         be major crude sources for China in 2022. Iraq,  4.2% from 46.12mn tonnes for December 2021.
                         the UAE, Oman and Kuwait shipped 55.49mn  Daily barrel imports averaged 11.37mn barrels
                         tonnes, 42.77mn tonnes and 39.37mn tonnes,  per day in December compared with 10.91mn
                         and 33.28mn tonnes of oil respectively last year.  bpd a year ago. ™



       Week 04   27•January•2023                www. NEWSBASE .com                                              P7
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