Overview
- Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Russia could extend an export deal via Kazakhstan to 2033 to boost crude flows to China.
- Russia currently ships about 1.4 million barrels per day by sea to China plus roughly 900,000 barrels per day via pipelines transiting Kazakhstan.
- Novak said Russia now supplies more than 20% of China’s total oil imports.
- Kazakhstan is studying options to raise capacity on the Atasu–Alashankou line by about 2.5 million barrels a year, including potential pumping upgrades or flow additives.
- Reuters estimates Russia’s hydrocarbon takings are about 35% lower this month at roughly $6.63 billion, as Russian experts cast the strategy as providing long-term “energy security” to China.