Russia overtook Saudi Arabia to become China’s top crude oil supplier in 2023 as the world’s biggest crude importer ignored Western sanctions and bought large volumes of cheap oil for its refineries, Reuters reported, citing news.ro.

Last year, Russia shipped a record 107.02 million tonnes of crude oil to China, equivalent to 2.14 million barrels per day (bpd), according to Chinese customs data, far more than other major oil exporters such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Imports from Saudi Arabia, previously China’s biggest supplier, fell 1.8 percent to 85.96 million tonnes as the Middle Eastern oil giant lost market share to cheaper Russian crude.

Russian oil, shunned by many international buyers following Western sanctions over the Kremlin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, has traded at deep discounts to international benchmarks for much of the past year amid a Western-imposed price ceiling.

Accelerating demand from Chinese and Indian refiners for low-cost oil pushed Russian ESPO oil prices higher in 2023, surpassing the Group of Seven’s $60 a barrel price ceiling set in December 2022, as alternatives spread transportation and insurance to evade sanctions.

ESPO crude for December delivery was off about 50-20 cents a barrel to benchmark ICE Brent, compared with a $1 premium for October delivery and a discount of $8.50 for delivery, according to trading sources. in March.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has raised prices for its benchmark Arab Light crude since July, prompting some refiners to seek cheaper supplies.

To support prices, Saudi Arabia and Russia, two of the world’s three largest oil producers, announced production and export cuts last year.

Saudi Arabia is cutting output by 1 million bpd this quarter, while Russia said it would increase its export cuts this year to 500,000 bpd from 300,000 bpd.

Chinese refiners use intermediary traders to transport and insure Russian crude to avoid violating Western sanctions.

Buyers also use Malaysian waters as a transshipment point for sanctioned goods from Iran and Venezuela.

Imports from Malaysia increased by 53.7% last year. In December, China did not report official shipments of Venezuelan oil, despite the easing of US sanctions on Caracas in October following a deal between President Nicolas Maduro’s administration and his political opposition.

U.S. shipments to China rose 81.1 percent last year, despite geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington, as U.S. crude output rose.

China’s total crude oil imports rose to a record 563.99 million tons in 2023, equivalent to 11.28 million barrels per day.