China Snaps Up Record-High Volumes Of Russian Crude In The First Half Of 2023
Despite an apparent weakness in its economy, China is importing record volumes of oil and is buying record amounts of Russian crude to add to stockpiles. During the first half of 2023, Chinese imports of Russian crude oil averaged 2.13 million barrels per day (bpd), which helped Russia oust its OPEC+ partner Saudi Arabia from the top spot as the single biggest supplier to the world’s top crude importer so far this year, per Financial Times estimates based on Chinese customs data. Imports from the world’s top crude oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, averaged 1.88 million bpd between January and June, according to FT’s calculations. In June alone, China broke – for yet another month – the record for importing Russian crude oil, per data from the Chinese General Administration of Customs cited by Reuters. Chinese imports from Russia averaged 2.56 million bpd last month, a surge of 44% compared to the same month in 2022, the Chinese customs data showed. The previous record, of 2.29 million bpd, was set in May as Chinese refiners continued to buy discounted Russian oil. The discounts for Russia’s crude narrowed relative to the benchmarks in June, but this didn’t stop China from boosting imports and breaking in June the record from May. China’s imports from Saudi Arabia also rose in June, compared to May and June last year. But at 1.93 million bpd in June 2023, those imports still trailed behind the record-breaking Chinese crude oil imports from Russia. Total Chinese oil imports are also surging. China’s crude oil imports in June jumped by 45.3% on the year to the second-highest monthly figure on record, as refiners continued building up inventories despite weak domestic demand. Oil imports in June totaled 12.67 million bpd—a sharp increase from a year ago when the country was still under Covid-19 lockdowns.
Has India’s appetite for Russian oil peaked? What latest data shows
India’s imports of oil from Russia rose to an all-time high in June. However, the growth in import was the slowest pace since October 2022 This is being seen as a signal that India’s appetite for Russian oil may have peaked, Reuters reported citing tanker data. Indian refiners have been buying Russian oil heavily ever since Russia began selling it at a discount following western sanctions in the wake of the Ukraine war. Discounts have now narrowed and problems have arisen in payments settlement. That has lately sent Indian refiners on the lookout for for alternative sources in the Middle East. India bought nearly 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude in June. It accounted for a marginal growth from over May, data showed. Before the Ukraine war, India rarely bought oil from Russia because of high freight costs. India’s June imports of Russian oil exceeded its combined purchases from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, the second- and third-biggest sellers to New Delhi. The United States emerged as the fourth-largest supplier to India, pushing UAE to the fifth place, the data showed. In terms of market share, Russia supplied about 42% of India’s crude oil imports in April-June, the first quarter of India’s fiscal year, the data showed, while the Middle East share rose to about 41% after slipping in the previous three months. Imports from the Middle East fell by about 34% in the June quarter from a year ago, while those from the C.I.S. nations – Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia – nearly trebled, the data showed. Lower imports from the Middle East dragged down OPEC’s share in India’s overall crude imports.
GAIL, LanzaTech Enter Strategic Partnership to Explore Biorecycling Carbon Waste into Fuels and Chemicals
GAIL (India) Limited, India’s largest natural gas company and LanzaTech Global, Inc., USA, an innovative carbon capture and utilization (“CCU”) company that converts waste carbon into products that people use in their daily lives, have entered a partnership to explore innovative technology solutions that advance GAIL’s Net Zero 2040 goals and have the potential to support wider decarbonization applications globally. GAIL and LanzaTech will explore setting up a pilot scale CO2 capture and conversion project that has the potential to be a role model for converting CO2 into useful materials instead of emitting it to the atmosphere. Combining LanzaTech’s carbon capture and utilization technology with GAIL’s renewable H2 and CO2 gas streams, the project will enable resource utilization where the building blocks of everyday consumer goods viz. Fuel, Packaging and Clothing can be made from biorecycled material instead of virgin fossil fuel. “The possibilities coming out of this collaboration with LanzaTech are very promising and significant to improving our carbon footprint,” said Sandeep Kumar Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of GAIL. “Using LanzaTech’s cutting-edge technology will enhance our environmental stewardship and open up new avenues for driving sustainability across our operations.” “Waste CO2 can be used to make the things we need,” said Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, LanzaTech’s CEO and Board Member of the US-India Strategic Partnership. “By combining LanzaTech’s expertise in carbon recycling with GAIL’s commitment to reducing emissions and implementing renewable projects, this project has the potential to turn CO2 from an environmental liability to a value added product. CO2 can be the raw material of the future, enabling fossil carbon to stay underground. We look forward to launching our collaboration with GAIL to make this vision a reality.”
Amid supply concerns, Indian crude basket rises 4% in July
The Indian crude oil basket which was largely subdued in May and June has witnessed over 4% increase in its average price in July amid global supply concerns. The average Indian crude basket for July stands at $78.22 per barrel, compared to $74.93 a barrel in June. In May, it averaged at $74.98 a barrel as prices eased amid growing concerns of a global slowdown.