Export of Russian crude oil to China may slightly rise in 2015 — Chinese oil trader

2015/03/25

BEIJING, March 25. /TASS/. Russia’s crude oil supplies to China will remain at 2014 level or slightly rise in 2015, President of China’s oil trading company Unipec, a subsidiary of the country’s largest oil producer Sinopec, Chen Bo said Wednesday.


"Compared with 2014, Russian oil exports to China will be approximately the same in 2015 or slightly higher," he said at the Russia-China oil and gas forum in Beijing.


He added that he could not give a more exact forecast as it’s not perfectly clear how the Chinese economy will be performing in the second half of the year. Currently, the Chinese market is facing a decrease in demand for gasoline and diesel fuel.


Russia is the second most important oil supplier to China after Saudi Arabia and Angola. In 2014, China imported 33.11 mln tons of oil from Russia, which is 35.4% more than a year earlier.


Currently, China imports oil from Russia via various pipes, including the East Siberian Pacific Ocean (ESPO) oil export pipeline, a pipeline through Kazakhstan and via maritime transport.


"Since the scope of China-Russia oil trade is expanding we hope that more Russian crude will be exported to China via the ESPO pipeline," Chen Bo said.


All in all, China imported 308 mln tons of oil in 2014. The domestic demand for oil totaled 530 mln tons in the People’s Republic of China in 2014.




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