A Chinese refinery that regularly imported Russian oil has put its purchases on hold

Chinese oil refiner Yanchang Petroleum, which used to regularly import Russian oil, has put its purchases on hold after the imposition of US sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing traders.

The Yanchang refinery, located in Shaanxi province, used to buy one shipment of crude oil per month, usually of ESPO or Sokol grades.

The facility has the capacity to process 348,000 barrels of crude oil per day and is one of the largest refineries in China's interior. It has an annual import quota of 3.6 million metric tons, or 26 million barrels .

The refinery usually receives imported crude oil from the port of Tianjin, near Beijing, from where it is delivered by rail.

• Earlier, Reuters reported that such major companies as PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC and Zhenhua Oil started avoiding purchases of Russian oil after the sanctions. .
• The United States imposed sanctions against major Russian oil companies on October 22 and called on Moscow to immediately agree to a ceasefire. The two largest Russian oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, were sanctioned. Restrictions were also imposed on a number of subsidiaries of Russian oil giants.