China on Monday started using new standard to measure water content in the imported pipeline crude oil from Russia to better safeguard China’s economic interest, state energy giant — CNPC — said on Monday. Chinese quality inspectors found that the Russian way of measuring the water content showed a much lower quantity in the crude oil than it actually carried, CNPC said;
After consultations, the two sides agreed to use the Chinese standard.
China had since 2011 been importing Russian crude oil under a government agreement via the East Siberia Pacific Ocean pipeline that enters China at border town of Mohe.
Russia’s top oil producer — Rosneft — is set to deliver 600,000 barrels per day of ESPO blend to PetroChina, CNPC’s listed arm, this year, up 50 per cent from 2017.
