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Chinese State Oil Giants Halt Seaborne Russian Crude Imports After New US Sanctions
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![Photo of Roman Kohanets]( "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
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Major Chinese state-owned oil companies have suspended seaborne purchases of Russian crude oil in response to new US sanctions on Russia’s two largest producers, Rosneft and Lukoil. This was reported by Reuters on October 23.
The move follows the latest round of US restrictions that cut off Rosneft and Lukoil from the dollar-based financial system and expose any foreign entities trading with them to secondary sanctions. The US Treasury said the measures aim to “degrade Russia’s ability to fund its war” through oil exports.
According to market data, China imports roughly 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil by sea, although most of those volumes are handled by independent refiners rather than the state majors.
PetroChina, Sinopec and other state firms purchased under 250,000 bpd of Russian crude during the first nine months of 2025, Vortexa Analytics reported, while Energy Aspects estimated the figure as high as 500,000 bpd.
Pipeline deliveries of around 900,000 bpd—also from Russia—continue to flow to PetroChina and are expected to remain unaffected, industry sources told Reuters.
European authorities also tightened enforcement this week, adding two Chinese refineries—Liaoyang Petrochemical and Shandong Yulong Petrochemical—as well as trader Chinaoil to the EU’s latest sanctions package for their role in handling Russian oil.
Earlier, it was reported that Russia’s oil exports to India are facing major disruption after new US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, undermining Indian refiners’ ability to continue Russian shipments.
