China’s Russian oil imports rise in April but Saudi is top supplier – Reuters

China’s Russian oil imports rise in April but Saudi is top supplier – Reuters

SINGAPORE/BEIJING, May 20 (Reuters) - China's crude oil imports from Russia rose 8.6% in April from a year earlier, as larger private refiners also embarked on purchases of the discounted fuel.

Arrivals from Russia - including seaborne shipments and supplies via pipelines - totalled 7.1 million tonnes or 1.73 million barrels per day (bpd), according to customs data released on Saturday.

Large private integrated refiners have joined smaller independent plants in snapping up lower-priced Russian oil, both the ESPO blend loaded from Russia's Far East and Urals from European ports.