$82 per barrel is the average price! Who is lower in the United States, Russia, Brazil, Iraq, Canada, and other countries?
According to the information released by the National Bureau of Statistics, throughout 2023, the volume of crude oil imported by the mainland will reach 564 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 11%. However, due to the overall decline in selling prices, the total amount of imported oil fell to 337.494 billion US dollars, a decrease of 7.7%.
With an import volume of 564 million tons and a total import value of 337.494 billion US dollars, the average price of oil imported by China in 2023 is around $82 at the equivalent of 7.3 barrels per ton. Please keep this price in mind and see which import channels are cheaper.
In 2023, China's main channels for oil imports will be shared
The standard given by Nansheng for this "main channel" is that "the amount of crude oil sold to China reaches and exceeds 5 million tons, that is, close to 1% of the mainland's total oil imports". For the whole of 2023, the number of import channels that meet this criterion is 15 countries.
Among them, Russia once again won the championship, with 107 million tons of oil sold to China in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 24%. Not only did it hit a record high, but it was also the "first heavyweight supplier to reach the 100 million ton level" in China's oil import channel.
In 2023, the total value of oil transactions between China and Russia will be about 60.645 billion US dollars, with a growth rate of only 3.5%, compared with the increase in the number of imports reaching 24%, it can be concluded that the average price of oil sold by Russia to China has decreased by more than 20%, giving people the feeling of "large quantity and cheap".
By comparison, China imports nearly 86 million tonnes of oil from Saudi Arabia, with a transaction value of nearly $54 billion, and an average price of $85.9 per barrel, which is 10.7 percentage points higher than the average price of China's oil imports from Russia, which is $77.6 per barrel.
Iraq is China's third largest channel for oil imports. The volume of oil sold to China in 2023 is about 59.26 million tons, with a transaction value of just over $35.2 billion, and an average price per barrel of about $81.4, slightly lower than the overall average price of China's imported oil.
Malaysia has been promoted to China's fourth largest channel for oil imports. The bilateral trading volume in 2023 will be 54.7928 million tons, with a transaction value of 28.55 billion US dollars, and the average price per barrel will be only 71.4 US dollars - the cheapest among China's main channels for oil imports.
The U.S. Energy Agency has mentioned that Malaysia has a good relationship with Iran and has become an "important transit point for indirect sales to China" of Iranian oil — most of the oil shipped from Iran to China has been relabeled as "originating in Malaysia" to circumvent the embargo imposed by the United States.
This may be an important reason why Malaysia's oil exports to the mainland are relatively cheap, and China's import channels are not Iranian. Nansheng reminded everyone that the above statement is only the words of the US Energy Administration, and has not been officially confirmed by China, Malaysia, Iran and other countries.
Among the top 15 channels, the price is comparable to that of Petronas, Colombia and Canada. Among them, the average price of oil sold by Colombia to China is US$71.6 per barrel, and the average price of oil sold to China by Canada in 2023 is around US$71.6 per barrel.
The highest prices are in Kazakhstan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. Among them, Kazakhstan's oil is close to $90 per barrel, and the average price of oil sold to China in the other three countries is more than $87 - Oman oil averages $87.6 per barrel and the United Arab Emirates $87.2 per barrel.
The average price of U.S. oil was $87.1 per barrel. Among the other major import channels, the average price of Brazilian oil is US$83.3 per barrel, Kuwait is US$85 per barrel, Qatar is US$85.5 per barrel, Congo (Brazzaville) is US$83.4 per barrel and Angola is US$84.6 per barrel (see figure below).
The above oil prices are CIF prices. Thanks to large-scale shipments between China and Russia, the average price of China's oil imports from Russia has been slightly lower than the "average price of oil purchased by India from Russia". Moreover, the quality of Russian oil imported by China is also higher than that of India. This article is written by Nansheng, please do not reprint or plagiarize without authorization!