Russia Becomes China's Main Oil Supplier

According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, in June, China imported a record 10.5 million tons of crude oil from Russia, which amounts to 2.56 million barrels, totaling approximately $5.23 billion. This information is reported on the administration’s website.

It is noted that in the first six months of 2023, the volume of Russian oil supplies to China increased by 27% compared to the first half of 2022, reaching 52.6 million tons, which corresponds to an average of 2.12 million barrels per day. Thus, Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia in the number of oil supplies.

The Russian Federation also increased its liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to China in the first half of 2023. Moscow supplied LNG to Beijing worth a total of $2.67 billion, securing the third place for China in this fuel supply, only behind Australia and Qatar, which ranked first and second, respectively.

Previously, it had been reported that Russia had reduced its oil discounts for Indian refineries, decreasing from $30 per barrel to $4.