In recent years, Saudi Arabia (hereinafter referred to as Saudi Arabia) and Russia have been secretly competing for the Chinese market. In September this year, Saudi Arabia exported 7.78 million tons of crude oil to China, thereby regaining its position as China’s largest crude oil supplier from Russia. In October, Saudi Arabia still did not relax and was still increasing crude oil exports to China to maintain its market position in China.
According to the latest report from Lianhe Zaobao on November 3, oil tanker tracking data showed that in October, Saudi Arabia China’s crude oil exports have soared, with an average of at least 1.8 million barrels per day exported to China, the highest export level since the oil price plunge in April. Meanwhile, Saudi crude oil exports to the United States fell to a paltry 97,000 barrels per day last month. The difference between the two is 1700%.
Some analysts pointed out that the surge in Saudi crude oil exports to China means that China’s economic recovery is accelerating. The latest data from the General Administration of Customs of my country show that from January to September this year, China imported a total of 416 million tons of crude oil, and the inventory is almost full. Currently, refineries are still rushing to buy imported crude oil to meet strong domestic fuel demand, reflecting China’s rapid consumption of crude oil and rapid economic recovery.
What is even more gratifying for oil-producing countries is that China has released a signal that it will continue to increase crude oil imports, providing further support for the international oil market. China said on November 2 that it would increase its non-state crude oil import quota in 2021 to 243 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 20%. Thanks to strong demand in the Chinese market, Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports rose to 6.24 million barrels per day in October.
It can be seen that Saudi Arabia hopes to increase the export of crude oil and make a lot of money to boost the economy. However, Saudi Arabia has taken action to curb its crude oil exports to the United States. What is going on?
As for Saudi Arabia’s deliberate not “selling” crude oil to the United States, there is speculation that this may be to prevent the United States from having the power to “manipulate” international oil prices. .
The API report showed that in the week ending October 23, U.S. EIA crude oil inventories unexpectedly increased significantly, with an actual increase of 4.32 million barrels, nearly three times the expected value. This caused a sharp drop in international oil prices. Saudi Arabia’s reduction in crude oil exports to the United States may be an attempt to reduce the U.S. EIA crude oil inventory.
</p
