Saudi Arabia maintains its position as the largest supplier of oil to China

Saudi shipments to Beijing jumped in October 12% year on year to 7.93 million tons, equivalent to 1.87 million barrels per day.

China’s imports of Saudi oil from the beginning of this year until last October amounted to about 73.8 million tons.

Russian supplies to China have reached 72 million tons since the beginning of the year. This is an increase of 9.5% on an annual basis. This country comes in second place after Saudi Arabia.

China’s crude oil imports from the US jumped more than five-fold in October compared to a year earlier, as refineries benefited from lower prices as US exports increased amid higher production and drawdowns in inventories.

Imports from Malaysia, which for the past two years has been a transit point for shipments from Iran and Venezuela, nearly doubled year-on-year to 3.52 million tons, while China did not record any imports from Venezuela or Iran.

State-run Chinese firms including Unipec, China Oil, and Zhenhua Oil have ramped up imports of Russia’s Urals crude, mostly loaded from European ports, in the past weeks ahead of imminent EU sanctions and amid uncertainty over a G7 plan to cap Russian oil prices.

The G7 countries intend to announce a ceiling for Russian crude prices next Wednesday, according to informed sources told Bloomberg.

It is expected that the administration of US President Joe Biden will announce the proposed price before the meeting of the ambassadors of the EU on November 23.

If the proposal is approved, the agreed price ceiling can be announced on the day of the meeting.

The price cap will prevent companies from providing the freight and services needed to transport Russian oil unless the oil is sold for less than the agreed ceiling.

Next December, after the fifth, the plan will be in force.