The Chinese market remains the largest one in terms of seaborne crude oil imports, after the first eight months of 2026. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “after a marginal decline in 2024, when global crude oil loadings decreased by -0.2% y-o-y, things picked up in 2025, with full-year volumes increasing by +1.8% y-o-y. In Jan-Aug 2026, however, global crude oil loadings declined by -5.4% y-o-y to 1,374.7 mln tonnes, excluding all cabotage trade, according to LSEG vessels tracking. Exports from the Arabian Gulf plunged by -30.1% y-o-y to 405.3 mln t in Jan-Aug 2026, and accounted for 29.5% of global seaborne crude trade, down sharply from the historical norm of about 40%, reflecting the ongoing war in the Persian Gulf. Exports from Russian ports (including oil of Kazakh origin) increased by +9.3% y-o-y to 165.5 mln t in JanAug 2026, or 12.0% of global trade. From South America, exports surged by +34.2% y-o-y to 188.9 mln t. From the USA, exports increased by +15.4% y-o-y to 137.5 mln t. From West Africa, exports decreased by -10.0% y-o-y to 105.8 mln t. From ASEAN exports rose by +11.2% y-o-y to 78.5 mln t in Jan-Aug 2026 (this inevitably includes transshipped Iranian/Russian cargoes)”.
According to Banchero Costa, “in terms of demand (measured by arrival at discharge ports), the top single-country seaborne importer of crude oil in Jan-Aug 2026 was China, accounting for 19.0% of global trade. Imports into the EU27 increased by +1.7% y-o-y to 310.9 mln t, accounting for 22.6% of global trade, which now makes the bloc as a whole a larger buyer than Mainland China. To ASEAN, imports decreased by -7.6% y-o-y to 176.6 mln t. Imports to India declined marginally by -1.5% y-o-y to 156.3 mln t in Jan-Aug 2026. To South Korea, imports declined by -11.0% y-o-y to 82.5 mln t. To Japan, imports fell by -15.1% y-o-y to 63.0 mln t in Jan-Aug 2026. Imports into the USA increased by +5.6% y-o-y to 85.8 mln t in Jan-Aug 2026”.
The shipbroker added that “mainland China is still by far the largest single-country importer of crude oil in the world, with a 19.0% share, but it has now slipped behind the European Union, whose 22.6% share makes the bloc as a whole the larger buyer. In Jan-Dec 2025, imports into China declined marginally by -0.3% y-o-y to 506.5 mln tonnes. In Jan-Aug 2026, crude import volumes into China fell sharply by -20.0% y-o-y to 261.7 mln tonnes. About 76.5 percent of volumes discharged in China in Jan-Aug 2026 were carried in VLCCs, about 5.0 percent were carried in Suezmaxes, and 17.8 percent in Aframaxes. Main crude oil import terminals in China are: Dongjiakou (28.9 mln tonnes in Jan-Aug 2026), Ningbo/Zhoushan (27.7 mln t), Lanshan (24.7), Beilun (14.8), Zhoushan (13.0), Dalian (12.5), Qingdao (12.4), Zhanjiang (11.2), Quanzhou (11.1), Huizhou (10.9), Tianjin (10.7), Longkou (9.1), Jieyang (8.8), Shuidong (8.4), Yantai (8.3), Cezi (7.6), and Yangpu (7.3)”.
Source: Banchero Costa
“In terms of sources of the shipments, the Middle East remains the largest supply region for China, but its share has collapsed to 32.6% in Jan-Aug 2026 from 45.6% in the same period of last year. In Jan-Aug 2026, Brazil overtook both Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the single largest exporter to China, accounting for 14.1% of volumes, ahead of Russia at 13.6% and Saudi Arabia at 13.2%. In Jan-Aug 2026, China imported 34.4 mln tonnes of crude oil from Saudi Arabia, down -30.9% y-o-y on the same period of last year. In the same period, imports from Iraq to China decreased by -64.7% yo-y to 14.5 mln t, and from Kuwait by -78.7% y-o-y to 2.0 mln t. Volumes from the UAE to China decreased by -29.1% y-o-y to 13.6 mln t, and from Oman decreased by -21.4% y-o-y to 18.3 mln t. Direct shipments from Russia surged by +31.3% y-o-y in Jan-Aug 2026 to 35.7 mln t. Imports from ASEAN (which includes some trans-shipment of Iranian and Russian oil) decreased by -30.1% y-oy to 28.3 mln t in Jan-Aug 2026, and from West Africa decreased by -21.8% y-o-y to 28.6 mln t. Volumes from Canada rose to 8.5 mln t in Jan-Aug 2026 from 6.6 mln t in the same period in Jan-Aug 2025”, Banchero Costa concluded.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
