Brazil Soars to China’s No. 3 Crude Oil Supplier in September

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil jumped to China’s third-biggest crude oil supplier in September, import data showed on Sunday, as China’s independent refiners scooped up cheap supplies of the South American exporter’s relatively high quality oil.

Imports from Brazil in September hit 4.49 million tonnes, up from 2.96 million tonnes a year earlier, data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed. Brazil overtook Iraq, which fell to fifth-biggest supplier.

China’s January-September imports from Brazil were 33.69 million tonnes, up 15.6 percent from a year earlier, according to Reuters calculations based on the data. China makes up 70% of Brazil’s oil exports, the country’s state oil firm Petrobras said in July.

Saudi Arabia regained the top spot in China’s oil purchases last month after losing that rank to Russia for the previous two months, data showed.

Imports from the kingdom were 7.78 million tonnes, equivalent to 1.89 million barrels per day (bpd), up from August’s 1.24 million bpd.

Russia supplied 7.48 million tonnes last month, or 1.82 million bpd, up 18.6 percent from a year earlier and up 32.8 percent from August, according to Reuters calculations.

For the first nine months of 2020, Russia remained the top seller with supplies totalling 64.62 million tonnes, 16 percent above year-ago level. Saudi Arabia trailed at 63.57 million tonnes, which was 6.5 percent higher on year.

U.S. shipments soared to 3.9 million tonnes in September, versus a year-earlier 517,982 tonnes.

China snapped up 13% more crude in the first nine months than a year earlier, as refiners ramped up production to meet speedy demand recovery from the pandemic and stock up at record rates on cheap oil.

Source: Reuters

Related coverage: Brazil's Lower House May Vote to End Petrobras' Virtual Monopoly in Gas Industry · Oil Pipeline Rupture in Ecuador's Amazon Region Causes Environmental Disaster · Colombian Oil and Coal Production to Fall Over the Next Decade, Says Government · Rio de Janeiro Municipalities Dependent on Offshore Oil Face New Hardship Surge

More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error

Brazil runoff, Sunday, October 25: Brazil runoff date. Latest: Brazil runoff polls, Flávio 51%, Lula 49%.