SINGAPORE: Chinese state oil majors have suspended purchases of seaborne Russian oil after the United States imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Moscow’s two biggest oil companies, multiple trade sources said on Thursday (Oct 23).
The move comes as refiners in India, the largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil, are set to sharply cut their crude imports from Moscow to comply with the US sanctions imposed over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
A sharp drop in oil demand from Russia’s two largest customers will put a strain on Moscow’s oil revenues and force the world’s top importers to seek alternative supplies and push up global prices.
Chinese national oil companies PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC and Zhenhua Oil will refrain from dealing in seaborne Russian oil at least in the short-term due to concern over sanctions, the sources said.
The four companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
While China imports roughly 1.4 million barrels of Russian oil per day by sea, most of that is bought by independent refiners, including small operators known as teapots, although estimates of purchases by state refiners vary widely.
Vortexa Analytics pegged Russian oil purchases by Chinese state firms at under 250,000 barrels per day for the first nine months of 2025, while consultancy Energy Aspects put it at 500,000.
Unipec, the trading arm of Sinopec, stopped Russian oil buying last week after Britain designated Rosneft and Lukoil, as well as shadow fleet ships and Chinese entities, including a major Chinese refiner, two trade sources said.
Rosneft and Lukoil sell most of their oil to China through intermediaries instead of directly dealing with buyers, traders said.
Independent refiners, meanwhile, are likely to pause buying to assess the impact of sanctions but would still look to continue Russian oil purchases, several traders said.
Prior to Wednesday’s sanctions announcement, offers for November-loading ESPO crude slid to a premium of US$1 per barrel to ICE Brent, versus previous trades done in early October at a US$1.70 premium.
China also imports approximately 900,000 barrels per day of Russian oil by pipeline, all of it going to PetroChina, which several traders said was likely to be little affected by sanctions.
India and China are expected to turn to other supplies, pushing up prices for non-sanctioned oil from the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, traders said.
