*China imported 2.55mn b/d of crude from Russia in March, more than 1mn b/d ahead of the 1.48mn b/d from number two supplier Saudi Arabia and only fractionally below the all-time monthly record of 2.56mn b/d from Russia (or any supplier) set in June last year. Indeed, in terms of the original tons figures, last month’s 10.81mn tons topped last June’s 10.50mn tons as the all-time high.
*For Q1 as a whole, the 2.29mn b/d that China imported from Russia was the highest quarterly figure from any country ever and some 700,000 b/d ahead of Saudi Arabia’s 1.59mn b/d (see chart & table). This came despite China’s overall crude imports having flatlined, with Q1’s 11.06mn b/d down fractionally both year-on-year and sequentially as the country’s crude output hit a near-record 4.30mn b/d (MEES, 19 April). (CONTINUED - 662 WORDS)
