Nikolai Tokarev, the head of Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft, revealed that oil shipments to China reached approximately 100 million metric tons (2 million barrels per day) in 2023. This substantial increase underscores Russia's successful redirection of oil flows away from Europe, its traditional market, in the face of Western sanctions imposed after Moscow's actions in Ukraine. Despite bans on seaborne crude oil and oil product imports from Russia in Europe, exemptions for shipments via the Druzhba pipeline to certain countries were maintained. Tokarev highlighted that nations like the Czech Republic and Slovakia, considered "unfriendly" due to their support for sanctions, sought extensions for the exemption. Additionally, he noted the expansion of Russian oil into new markets, including Egypt, Morocco, Myanmar, and Pakistan. Transneft's increased exporting capacity, facilitated by new pumping stations, is expected to further boost exports to China, with the Achinskoye station set to come online in the first half of 2024.

SOURCE:GOOGLE