C1 Energy (Shanghai) – Mar 11, 2010 －－－China's imports of crude originating from the Middle East occupied 42% of the total in January, down 5 percentage points from the average of 2009, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.
The imports fell to 7.15-mil mt, down 15% on month, down 16% year-on-year, the data showed.
However, in the meantime, China's crude imports from Africa, South America and the Black Sea region surged 77%, 200% and 45%, respectively.
The change of crude supply pattern was mainly due to persistently high Dubai benchmarks and low freight rates when Chinese importers placed orders of January cargoes, market sources pointed out.
China is expected to step up crude imports transmitted by the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline as the feedstock is gradually accepted by the Far East market, the sources believed. Transmission capacity of the pipeline is close to 10-mil mt per year at present, which would be increased to 50-mil mt per year by 2016.
