China is importing Russian crude at record rates, and its insatiable appetite for the discounted barrels looks unlikely to wane in the near term. China's imports of Russian crude could exceed 2 million barrels per day in June, and its July volumes already look strong. Chinese national oil companies (NOCs), along with several independent refiners, are most responsible for the surge in demand, snapping up almost all of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (Espo) crude on offer while grabbing significant volumes of Urals, too. China imported a record 1.99 million b/d of Russian crude in May. It landed 1.13 million b/d of ... (full story)