Page 7 - AsianOil Week 04 2023
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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