China's crude imports from South America and the Caspian region rose by 18% and 20% year on year respectively in the first eleven months of 2012, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs.
The imports from Venezuela, the major crude supplier in South America, gained by 29.9% to 13.92m tonnes in the period; meanwhile, crude imports from Argentina and Ecuador increased by 112% and 66% respectively, the data showed.
The imports of Russia crude from the Caspian region climbed by 36% to 22.45m tonnes in the eleven months, the data also showed. Russia crude was mainly supplied to PetroChina's refineries in northeast China via the Sino-Russia crude pipeline and part of Sinopec's refineries in eastern coasts by sea, market sources said.
China's crude imports from the top two suppliers the Middle East and Africa gained by 4.4% and 7.2% respectively in the January-November period, according to the data. Although the imports of Iran crude fell by 20-30% on western sanctions, crude imports from Kuwait, United Arab Emirates rose notably. In the meantime, China hiked its crude imports from Africa's Angola, Libya and Algeria.
Crude imports from the Middle East and Africa accounted for 50% and 24% of China's total imports respectively in the period. The share of those from the Caspian region and South America rose to 13% and 10% respectively.
The total crude imports from top ten suppliers for China accounted for 82% of China's total imports in January-November, the data also showed.
