Saudi Arabia Bypasses Russia, Consolidating its Position as The Largest Oil Supplier to China

Government data revealed today, Wednesday, that Saudi Arabia overtook Russia to maintain its position as the largest supplier of crude oil to China in 2020.

China, the world’s largest oil importer, bought 542.4 million tons of crude oil in 2020, or 10.85 million barrels per day, which is an increase of 7.3% year-on-year.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, annual Saudi oil shipments to China reached 84.92 million tons in 2020, or about 1.69 million barrels per day, an increase of 1.9% year-on-year.

Russia came in second place by a slight difference, with shipments of 83.57 million tons, or 1.67 million barrels per day, an increase of 7.6% over 2019, the data showed.

In December, Saudi supplies reached 6.94 million tons, down 0.8% from a year ago, while Russian quantities reached 6.2 million tons last month, down 15.75 years on year.

China’s imports from the United States tripled last year compared to 2019 as companies stepped up purchases under a trade deal with Washington.

Imports from the United States totaled 19.76 million tons in 2020, or about 394,000 barrels of oil per day. In December, it amounted to 3.6 million tons.