China state oil majors suspend Russian oil buys due to sanctions, Reuters

Reuters. Chinese state oil majors have suspended purchases of seaborne Russian oil after the United States imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Moscow’s two biggest oil companies, multiple trade sources said on Thursday.

The move comes as refiners in India, the largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil, are set to sharply cut their crude imports from Moscow, to comply with the U.S. sanctions imposed over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Chinese national oil companies PetroChina (601857.SS), opens new tab, Sinopec, CNOOC and Zhenhua Oil will refrain from dealing in seaborne Russian oil at least in the short-term due to concern over sanctions, the sources said.

The four companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.