Chinese state-controlled refining giant Sinopec has restarted its purchases of Russian crude oil after halting them last month due to concerns over U.S. sanctions, trade sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
Sinopec, the largest refiner in Asia, resumed buying Russia’s ESPO blend for May delivery, marking its first purchase since February. The company had paused purchases for March and April as it assessed the risks associated with the U.S. sanctions on Russia’s oil trade and its shadow tanker fleet.
The exact reason behind the return to Russian crude purchases by Sinopec’s trading arm, Unipec, remains unclear.
Earlier in March, several state-controlled Chinese refiners reduced or stopped buying Russian oil due to concerns over potential secondary sanctions. Sinopec and Zhenhua Oil, for example, halted purchases of Russian crude oil for March loadings. Meanwhile, other Chinese state oil giants like PetroChina and CNOOC continued to buy Russian oil, but at lower volumes.
While state-owned Chinese refiners reduced or ceased their Russian oil imports, independent Chinese refiners—who typically favor cheaper Russian and Iranian oil—stepped in to fill the gap.
The cautious approach by Chinese oil majors towards Russian oil came after the U.S. sanctions were imposed in January. Emma Li, a senior market analyst at Vortexa, noted that even though some Chinese firms used non-sanctioned tankers, their purchases of Russian ESPO Blend were limited. Li added that some state-owned companies had completely halted Russian oil purchases in March after reducing them in February.
In response to the sanctions, China sought workarounds, while Russia deployed more non-sanctioned tankers to service the Far East Russia-China oil route.
Despite these challenges, Chinese crude oil imports rose to over 12 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, the highest since August 2023. This was driven by a rebound in Russian and Iranian oil shipments, which had fallen earlier this year due to the U.S. sanctions.
The flow of Russian crude to China is picking up again, with many cargoes on sanctioned tankers finding buyers in Shandong. Additionally, stranded Russian Arctic oil shipments are now being directed to Chinese buyers through ship-to-ship transfers using the so-called “dark fleet,” according to Vortexa reports from earlier in April.
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