The Chinese state and private oil giants have markedly increased their imports of Russian oil, according to recent agency reports from Reuters. The data highlights a sustained shift in energy trade, with Moscow supplying Asia’s largest economy at a faster pace than before.
In March 2023, China’s total Russian oil imports reached a record 9.61 million tons, which translates to roughly 2.26 million barrels per day. This milestone underscores how Russian crude has become a central pillar of China’s energy strategy, underpinning a broader diversification of supply routes and suppliers.
Analytical firm Vortexa reports that China absorbed about 600,000 barrels per day of Urals grade crude, with expectations that this daily flow could climb to around 700,000 barrels in April. If realized, this would mark another record in Russia’s oil deliveries to China, continuing a multi-year trend of rising volumes from the Urals to the Asian market.
In a separate legislative development, the Russian State Duma passed laws in its second and third readings introducing a tax regime pegged to Brent pricing rather than the Urals Brent-linked blend when calculating export taxation. This shift aligns tax calculations with a globally recognized benchmark, affecting how export revenues are assessed and collected.
Additionally, Russia introduced a new methodology for determining Urals oil pricing when calculating taxes on the extraction of mineral resources and the additional income from hydrocarbon extraction (ATD). This reform changes the framework for tax calculation, potentially influencing the overall fiscal environment for oil exports.