Russia was also China's main supplier throughout 2023, shipping 2.14 million bpd despite Western sanctions and a price cap

Together China and India accounted for around 90% of Russia’s crude exports, while Europe's share fell to only about 4-5% from about 40-45%

The sweeping deal aims to link South Asia and the Middle East to help the flow of energy and trade from the Gulf to Europe

Cooperation between Riyadh and Beijing has deepened in security and sensitive tech amid a warming of political ties

The world's No1 and No3 crude importers bought about 110 million barrels of Russian crude in May, up nearly 10% from the previous month

"All these Arctic crudes usually go to the EU but now they have to go elsewhere," a trader in Singapore said, adding that "Now India and China are their major homes."

The increased quotas include 13.25 million tonnes of refined products – gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel

China's demand for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel could fall by 380,000 barrels a day this year - the first decline in 20 years, largely because of Covid curbs

Asia's factory activity slid last month as China's strict zero-Covid approach and cost pressures hit businesses hard

The quotas will bring this year's total refined fuel export quotas to 22.5 million tonnes, 39% less than the first three allotments last year

"Our refining margins were in the negative, and operations only began to recover slightly from late May with some early signs of easing in lockdowns," a refinery trading manager said

The carbon capture project, situated at CNOOC's Enping Oilfield in the mouth of the Pearl River, will store carbon dioxide emitted during oil extraction