RUSSIA overtook Saudi Arabia for the third time this year in November as China’s largest crude oil supplier, customs data showed yesterday, as Russia captures fresh demand from China’s new crude buyers.

    China brought in about 949,925 barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude oil in November, compared with 886,950 bpd from Saudi Arabia, data from the General Customs Administration showed.

    For the first 11 months, Saudi remained the No.1 seller with total supplies at 46.08 million tons, or around 1.01 million bpd, up 2.1 percent over the year-ago period.

    Russia, which ramped up exports by 28 percent over the same period, supplied 37.62 million tons, or about 822,200 bpd.

    China has since July allowed more than a dozen mostly independent companies to import crude oil for the first time, pushing its crude oil purchases to new highs while the government has also stepped up its strategic stockpiling.

    With a rigid allocation system and destination restrictions on contracts, Saudi crude is less appealing to China’s new crude importers when compared to Russian grades, traders have said.(SD-Agencies)