China’s oil trade took a noticeable turn during the first half of this year, as its imports of crude oil from Russia increased by 5%, while imports from Saudi Arabia, its second largest supplier, decreased by 13%.

Official data issued last June indicates that Saudi oil shipments to China declined by 14% year-on-year to reach 6.82 million tons.

Imports from Russia, including via pipelines and shipments, rose to 8.43 million tons, equivalent to 2.05 million barrels per day.

This shift is partly due to weak domestic demand for fuel in China, which has led to a decline in the operations of independent refineries, and higher freight rates from European ports have played a role in the decline in demand for Russian Urals crude.

Despite this decline, Russia remains the largest supplier of crude oil to China, with its share reaching 31.28 million tons during the first six months of the year, while Saudi Arabia ranked second with 31.24 million tons.

China’s total imports of crude oil decreased by 2.3% from last year to reach 263.76 million tons, driven by weak domestic demand.