China, India are the main buyers of Russian oil

"Many countries are ready to buy Russian oil and oil products, such as countries in Latin America, African countries and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with Rossiya-24 channel.

According to Mr. Alexander Novak, in 2023, Russia will transport 1.5 million tons of oil via the Northern Sea Route. This is a shipping route that brings in a lot of revenue, about twice as short as traditional routes through the Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean,..."

Russia has increased oil and gas exports to China in 2023. (Photo: TASS)

In the current situation, Russia’s leading partners are China and India, the official said. “Previously, we almost did not sell oil to India, but after two years, our supplies to this country have reached 40% ,” said Alexander Novak.

In contrast, Europe’s market share, which was 40-45% before the war, is now only about 4-5%. Over the past year, Russia has actively shifted its energy sales from the West to Asia, making the most of its old fleet to transport crude oil.

Russian natural gas exports to China are expected to increase by up to 50% in 2023 compared to the same period last year, said Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller.

Gazprom set a new record last week for daily gas supplies to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline. Gas supplies to Russia’s top trading partner will continue to grow and are forecast to reach 38 billion cubic meters by 2025, Aleksey Miller said.

Gazprom supplies natural gas to China under a long-term contract signed with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). Russian gas exports to China are expected to increase to 100 billion cubic meters per year.

In 2022, China increased its oil purchases from Russia by 8.2% to 86.2 million tons. The price of crude oil imported from Russia increased by about 43.9% to $58.37 billion.

China is buying more Russian oil after many Western countries cut off from the source due to sanctions over Ukraine. Following the G7 embargo and Russia’s price cap last year, Moscow has also been actively diverting its oil to Asia.

Kong Anh (Source: TASS)

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