China’s Top Refiner Pivots to Russian Crude

China’s Sinopec, the world’s top refiner by capacity, has boosted purchases of Russia’s Far East crude for delivery in the third quarter as it looks to secure cargo arrivals amid continued shipping constraints in the Middle East.

State-run Sinopec has acquired as many as 30-40 shipments, or 241,000 to 320,000 barrels per day (bpd), of Russia's Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) for delivery between July and September, trade sources and vessel-tracking data analysts have told Reuters.