China buys Russian oil at significant discounts

From January to November, China imported 521.87 million tons of crude oil, up 3.2% from the same period last year.

Domestic demand has experienced a seasonal decline, but sanctions on oil supplies from Iran and Russia have led to a significant decline in raw material prices, which has increased refining margins and prompted more refineries to apply for advance import quotas for the first batch in 2026, the report said.

Sanctions have forced Russia to make significant discounts on oil for China. Russian Far Eastern ESPO oil for December loading is being sold at a discount of $5-6 per barrel in Chinese ports compared to Brent, Reuters also writes, citing sources.

This is the largest discount on this type of oil for China in the entire history of observations, Reuters reports. At the end of October, the discount on Russian ESPO oil was only $0.5-1 per barrel.

Discounts on Russian oil in China have increased due to falling demand after state-owned refineries suspended purchases due to Western sanctions, and private players began to be more cautious about their sources of raw material supply.