China’s Iraqi, Qatari Crude Purchases Reach 12 Million Barrels as Iranian Supplies Decline
Key Facts
China’s independent refineries increased purchases of Iraqi and Qatari crude for delivery in October and November in an effort to offset declining Iranian supplies, according to a Reuters report. The agency quoted trading firms as saying the refineries bought at least 12 million barrels of the two grades. One trader estimated total purchases at between 15 and 20 million barrels. The move reflects efforts to buy alternatives from the Gulf as Iranian oil flows to China recede. The purchases came as China’s crude imports in October rose to their highest level in 7 months, according to Bloomberg.
Data from Kpler cited by Reuters showed China’s Iranian oil imports fell in September to 590 thousand barrels per day, nearly half their level a year earlier. That was the lowest level recorded since January 2023. The decline provides context for independent refineries’ move to buy Iraqi and Qatari crude for shipment in the following two months. Reuters said the refineries’ purchases included cargoes for delivery in October and November, while the report does not establish that these volumes fully replaced the declining Iranian oil. The data also do not prove that Saudi crude replaced Iranian supplies in the Chinese market.
By contrast, China’s crude imports approached 42 million tons in October, reaching a 7-month high, according to a Bloomberg report published on November 10. Bloomberg attributed the increase mainly to Iraqi shipments. Even so, crude imports remained 13% below their level in October of the previous year. The figures show that the monthly recovery did not erase the year-on-year decline. They are also consistent with refineries expanding their purchases of Iraqi crude, though they do not by themselves establish how much those purchases contributed to total imports.
In broader trade, China’s imports rose 41.6% year on year in October, while the trade surplus narrowed to 105.3 billion dollars from 133.5 billion dollars in September, according to the Associated Press. The agency linked the import surge in part to a recovery in crude shipments from the Persian Gulf. This context suggests that rising oil flows coincided with accelerating Chinese imports and a narrowing trade surplus. But it does not by itself identify each supplier’s share or quantify how much Iraqi and Qatari crude replaced Iranian oil. Purchases reported by traders therefore remain a separate indicator of a reshuffling of supply sources.
China’s Customs Administration said total imports and exports in the first ten months of 2026 rose 20% year on year to 44.81 trillion yuan. Imports during the period increased 23.6%, while exports grew 17.6%. In October alone, goods trade expanded 31.2%, and imports and exports recorded double-digit growth for six consecutive months through the end of the month. A customs official also said China’s imports from more than 150 countries and regions grew in the first ten months. The data place crude purchases within a broader period of trade expansion, without breaking out the value of oil trade or identifying its effect on the trade balance.
Floating-storage data point to further pressure on Iranian crude flows. Reuters cited Kpler as saying the volume of Iranian crude stored on tankers outside the blockade zone fell to 45 million barrels from 100 million barrels in late July, according to a report dated October 6. The decline shows a reduction in the volume of crude available on those tankers compared with its previous level. It does not mean inventories were close to running out, nor does it provide a complete measure of Iranian supplies available to China. Iraqi and Qatari purchases, and China’s crude imports in October, remain separate indicators of market activity during a period of declining Iranian imports.