China Reduces Oil Imports from Russia Amid New Sanctions and Increases Supplies from Other Countries
In November 2025, China significantly altered its crude oil import structure, reducing purchases from the Russian Federation and increasing supplies from alternative sources. The total volume of maritime oil deliveries to China rose to 12.38 million barrels per day, the highest level since August 2023.
This is reported by AgroReview
Increase in Supplies from the Middle East and Restrictions on Russian Volumes
Among key exporters, Saudi Arabia showed the most significant growth. Maritime oil supplies from this country increased by 345,000 barrels per day, reaching 1.59 million barrels. At the same time, imports from Iran also demonstrated substantial growth, reaching 1.35 million barrels per day. These figures indicate an active diversification of China’s energy resource imports.
Meanwhile, the volume of Russian oil supplies to China decreased by 157,000 barrels per day, averaging 1.19 million barrels in November. This reduction is attributed to decreased purchases by state-owned oil refineries in China and limited import quotas for private refineries. Overall, the dynamics of crude oil imports to China increased by 4.88% compared to November of last year.
Impact of Sanctions and Ukrainian Actions on the Energy Market
As noted by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, 2025 has become the first year since the beginning of the war when the extraction and processing of Russian oil are steadily declining, and the Russian budget is missing out on tens of billions in oil and gas revenues.
Following the introduction of new sanctions by the US and EU against companies “Rosneft” and “Lukoil” in October, Russia’s share in China’s oil imports sharply decreased from 14.7% to 11.2%. For December, these companies announced only three shipments to China, indicating a significant reduction in their presence in one of Asia’s largest energy markets.
Ukraine is also having a significant impact on changes in oil logistics. In particular, due to a drone attack that damaged the Black Sea terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), Kazakhstan plans to deliver 50,000 tons of oil from the “Kashagan” field directly to China for the first time in December. Thus, China continues to optimize its energy imports, gradually reducing its dependence on Russia in favor of other suppliers.