Chinese imports from Iran, Venezuela oil transshipment hub surge 61 percent

Chinese imports from Malaysia, a major transshipment hub for oil from Iran and Venezuela, surged 61 per cent on the year to 6.21 million tons, or 1.46 million bpd, keeping the country as the third-largest supplier for July.

News ID: 5028

Date: 21 August 2024 - 12:54

TABNAK, Aug, 21: China’s imports from Malaysia totaled 35.68 million tons for the first seven months of the year, an increase of 21 per cent year-on-year.

China did not record any imports from Iran or Venezuela last month.

However, China's crude oil imports from top supplier Russia fell in July by 7.4 per cent from a year earlier in line with a broad decline in Chinese refiners' purchases that were curbed by tepid fuel demand at home.

Russian oil arrivals, including via pipelines and shipments, totaled 7.46 million metric tons last month, or 1.76 million barrels per day (bpd), according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

That compared with June's 2.05 million bpd and 1.9 million bpd in July 2023.

Total shipments in July into the world's largest crude oil importer fell to their lowest since September 2022 as weak processing margins and low fuel demand curbed operations at state-run and independent refineries.

Shipments from No 2 supplier Saudi Arabia totaled 6.41 million tons, or 1.51 million bpd, up 13 per cent from a year earlier.

Year-to-date volumes from the top producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries were 46.79 million tons, or 1.6 million bpd, down 10 per cent year-on-year, the data showed.