China's November crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia jumped nearly 30 percent from the year before, customs data showed on Thursday, with the kingdom overtaking Russia to become the largest crude supplier to the world's No 2 economy. Imports from Saudi Arabia rose 29.19 percent on a year earlier to 1.15 million barrels per day (bpd), while supply from Russia climbed 17.92 percent to 1.12 million bpd, the figures showed.
Crude oil imports from Iran in November grew 24.48 percent year-on-year to 611,338 bpd, while imports from Iraq rose 15.68 percent to 695,148 bpd. China shipped in 850,425 bpd of crude oil from Angola in November. South American suppliers Brazil and Venezuela have ramped up shipments by 79.16 and 39.17 percent respectively over the first 11 months, mostly due to demand from independent refineries.
China's total crude oil imports in November were up 18.3 percent on the year at 7.87 million bpd, rebounding strongly from October. Imports for the first 11 months rose 14 percent to 7.53 million bpd, which represents an incremental purchase of nearly 925,000 bpd. The data came after Saudi-led Opec and its rival producers reached their first deal since 2001 to curtail oil output and ease a global glut, lifting prices to 17-month highs. The market is now waiting to see how the pledged cuts will be delivered.