China buys the Russian crude oil that India rejected

By Rhod Mackenzie

Following increased monitoring of oil sanctions against Russia by Washington and the rest of the G7, tankers carrying Russian oil began to appear. However, buyers rejected these tankers to avoid being subject to secondary US sanctions. Consequently, several tankers carrying Russian oil that exceeded the G7's price ceiling of $60 per barrel were hit with sanctions. Recently, an increasing number of Sokol oil tankers are being anchored off the coasts of South Korea and Singapore instead of sailing to India. However, in February, China compensated for the decrease in Russian oil supplies at the end of last year and in the first month of 2024. Chinese traders and refiners seem to be less concerned about US sanctions than their Indian counterparts and are actively purchasing Russian oil, which has been abandoned by major Indian oil companies. It is important to note that this mainly concerns state-owned companies.
It should be noted that China is not the sole contender for the remaining unclaimed Russian oil. Recently, a tanker carrying Russian Sokol crude unloaded in Pakistan at an oil refinery west of Karachi.

The current volume of Russian oil, which Indian buyers rejected and which remained at sea in tanker holds, exceeds 10 million barrels, according to Oil Price.

In March, independent Chinese refineries and companies purchased several cargoes of Russian oil, providing much-needed support to Russian traders. As a result, most tankers carrying Russian oil have now departed from the coast of Singapore and are en route to China.

It is important to note that so-called 'dummy' refineries have also become active in China. Like their Indian counterparts, large state-owned oil refiners in China have also become cautious and reduced purchases of Russian oil. As a result, Sinopec, Asia's largest oil refiner, as well as PetroChina, CNOOC and Sinochem, will not trade in Russian oil for deliveries in May. According to Reuters, Unipec, Russia's main oil buyer and a division of Sinopec, is even warning employees at internal meetings to work less with Russian oil so as not to anger the Americans.