Russia and China are exploring options to expand Russian oil shipments to the Chinese market, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said at a Sino-Russian business forum in Beijing. China and India have become Russia’s dominant energy customers since the Ukraine war began, with China currently taking around 1.4 million barrels per day by sea and another 900,000 barrels per day via pipeline.
The talks come as the United States imposes new sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two largest oil producers, measures Moscow has dismissed as ineffective. Despite mixed reports about future supply volumes, Russia’s overall crude exports have remained broadly stable.
Novak said Moscow and Beijing are reviewing ways to increase flows, including the option of extending intergovernmental agreements that would allow Russian oil to continue moving to China through Kazakhstan for another decade, up to 2033.
