Shipments of crude oil by Saudi Arabian to its biggest customer, China, are expected to drop in April to their lowest in more than a year, trade sources said on Thursday, partly due to maintenance at Chinese refineries owned by Sinopec.
Saudi Arabia allocated about 35.5 million barrels of oil in April to its Chinese customers, down from 41 million in the previous month, Reuters data showed.
The drop in China’s demand for Saudi oil comes despite agreement by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as Opec+, to proceed with a plan to raise production in April.
Sinopec plans to shut at least 700,000 barrels per day of crude processing capacity from mid-March through to May at subsidiaries such as the Yangzi, Jiujiang and Gaoqiao refineries, according to data compiled by Reuters based on industry and trade sources.
Saudi Aramco and Sinopec did not respond to requests for comments.
Crude oil markets in Asia are also stabilising after US sanctions on Russia and Iranian oil disrupted trade in late 2024 and early 2025.
China’s imports of Russian Far East crude and Iranian oil are expected to rebound in March as non-sanctioned tankers, drawn by lucrative payoffs, joined the trade, replacing vessels under US embargo, trade sources and analysts said.
Russian oil supplies to India, the world’s third largest oil importer, have also recovered this month.
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