Final Chinese crude import stats for 2023 show record imports of 2.14mn b/d from Russia, up 417,000 b/d or 24% on 2022 and more than 400,000 b/d ahead of number two supplier Saudi Arabia. The kingdom had been fractionally ahead of Russia as top supplier for 2022, and was also top for each of the three preceding years, but saw volumes dip by 2% to 1.72mn b/d for 2023 (see chart 1 and table).