GreenergyDaily

Oct. 24, 2025

Chinese state oil majors have suspended purchases of seaborne Russian oil after the United States imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Moscow's two biggest oil companies, Reuters reported, citing multiple trade sources.

Chinese national oil companies PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC and Zhenhua Oil will refrain from dealing in seaborne Russian oil at least in the short-term due to concern over sanctions, the sources said.

While China imports roughly 1.4 million barrels of Russian oil per day by sea, most of that is bought by independent refiners, including small operators known as teapots, although estimates of purchases by state refiners vary widely.

Vortexa Analytics pegged Russian oil purchases by Chinese state firms at under 250,000 bpd for the first nine months of 2025, while consultancy Energy Aspects put it at 500,000 bpd.

Unipec, the trading arm of Sinopec, stopped Russian oil buying last week after Britain designated Rosneft and Lukoil, as well as shadow fleet ships and Chinese entities including a major Chinese refiner, two trade sources said.

Rosneft and Lukoil sell most of their oil to China through intermediaries instead of directly dealing with buyers, traders said.

Independent refiners, meanwhile, are likely to pause buying to assess the impact of sanctions but would still look to continue Russian oil purchases, several traders said.

China also imports approximately 900,000 bpd of Russian oil by pipeline, all of it going to PetroChina, which several traders said was likely to be little affected by sanctions.