China’s Jan-Feb crude oil imports from top supplier Russia drop

SINGAPORE: Russia remains the top oil supplier to China during the first two months of 2025, but volumes - including piped supplies and tanker shipments - fell 13% year on year to 15.47 million metric tons, or about 1.91 million barrels per day (bpd), according to Chinese customs data.

Seaborne Russian supplies were temporarily disrupted by the former Biden administration’s sanctions on January 10 that targetted Russian producer, tankers and insurers.

China’s total crude oil imports fell 5% on the year during the two months as tougher US sanctions on ships carrying Russian and Iranian oil and a Chinese port ban slowed flows into the world’s top importer.

Saudi Arabia trails behind as second-largest supplier, with supplies down nearly 14% at 11.66 million tons during the January-February period, or about 1.44 million bpd.