EU lists two Chinese refineries, trader Chinaoil in 19th package of Russia sanctions

The European Union has added two Chinese refiners with a combined capacity of 600,000 barrels per day and Chinaoil Hong Kong, a trading arm of PetroChina, to its Russia sanctions list, the EU's Official Journal showed on Thursday.

The two refineries are Liaoyang Petrochemical and Shandong Yulong Petrochemical.

The Chinese listings are not the EU's first but they are the most economically significant. In tandem with Group of Seven nations, the EU is trying to further drain Russia's means to fund its war in Ukraine by squeezing vital oil and gas revenues.

The EU said the three companies were significant buyers of Russian crude oil and therefore provided a "substantial source of revenue" to Moscow.

Shandong Yulong is China's newest refinery with a capacity of 400,000 bpd and one of the country's largest single Russian oil customers.

Several of Yulong's crude suppliers have already cancelled sales of Middle Eastern and Canadian oil to the plant after Britain sanctioned the refinery last week.

The EU journal said the refiner had bought millions of barrels of Russia's ESPO and Urals crude grades.

The Liaoyang plant has a capacity of 200,000 bpd in northeastern China and is an integrated refiner and petrochemical company.

The EU also sanctioned China's Tianjin Xishanfusheng International Trading, which it said played a significant role in Russia's efforts to circumvent sanctions.

Reuters