China imported a record 53.18mn tons (12.99mn b/d) of crude oil and condensate in June, up a further 1.64mn b/d (14%) on the previous record set just a month earlier.
May’s 11.35mn b/d included a record 2.16mn b/d from Saudi Arabia on the back of record Saudi exports of 10.24mn b/d in April (MEES, 26 June). Whilst official by-country import data for June is not yet available, numbers from data analysis firm Kpler show Saudi volumes falling to 1.91mn b/d. Iraq on 1.34mn b/d, down from May’s record 1.64mn b/d, is just shy of Russia (1.40mn b/d) for second place. Brazil is just behind with a record 1.23mn b/d on the back of exporting a bumper total 1.91mn b/d for May (MEES, 10 July). Whilst just 155,000 b/d of US crude and condensate arrived in China in June according to the Kpler data, this is set to leap in July with the arrival of the bulk of the record 1.31mn b/d that sailed from the US for China in May (MEES, 10 May). (CONTINUED - 239 WORDS)