A growing fleet of tankers carrying Russia’s flagship Urals crude has amassed off China’s east coast after India — the world’s largest buyer of the grade — sharply reduced purchases following tighter Western sanctions on Russian oil flows.
At least five vessels loaded with around 3.4 million barrels of Urals were idling in the Yellow Sea as of Wednesday, according to vessel-tracking data from Kpler. The volume is double that seen last week and marks the highest concentration of the grade in the region in more than five years. The anchorage is close to Shandong province, home to a large cluster of independent Chinese refiners.
The buildup has drawn close attention from global oil traders, as Chinese refiners are not traditional buyers of Urals crude, which is loaded at Russia’s western ports. Instead, China typically favors Russian oil shipped from eastern terminals due to shorter voyage times and a diesel-rich crude slate better suited to local demand.
However, heightened US scrutiny of Russia-to-India crude trade, along with sanctions imposed on Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC, has disrupted established flows in recent weeks. As a result, sellers of Urals crude have been forced to look for alternative buyers across East Asia.
India’s imports of Russian oil are expected to average about 800,000 barrels per day this month, according to local officials — a steep decline from the peak of nearly 2 million barrels per day recorded in June.
It remains unclear whether the Urals cargoes currently gathered off China have already been sold or are still being actively marketed. While tankers often depart Russia’s western ports without secured buyers, the growing number of vessels waiting offshore suggests a potential shift in trade patterns as sanctions continue to reshape global crude flows.