Saudi Arabia and Angola both beat out Russia as the largest crude oil suppliers to China in October, according to Bloomberg.
Saudi Arabia sold 3.99mn metric tonnes to China during October, according to data from China’s General Administration of Customs. Angola sold 3.64mn tonnes to China, while Russia was third in the race for its ally’s market, selling 3.41mn tonnes during the month.
China is a key market for members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that are trying to sell crude oil during a market glut, with American shale oil on the market as one factor.
“Saudi Arabia never stopped fighting for market share in China and in Asia as a whole,” Gao Jian, an analyst at SCI International, an energy consultant, told Bloomberg. “One year after OPEC announced its production policy to defend market share, their strategy seems to be working.”
The huge energy-craving China market is one arena where the world’s suppliers continue to compete for share amid a global oil glut, and energy experts continue to worry that high production levels will not change anytime soon.
Russia’s economy has been badly hit by the slump in global energy prices as well as the economic sanctions levied by Western nations following the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014.
