According to customs data, China’s November crude oil imports from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) jumped 29.19% on a year earlier to 1.15mb/d, Reuters reported.

This jump in crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia, positioning the kingdom as  the largest crude oil exporter to China. Imports from Russia, which previously exported the most to China, rose 17.92% on a year earlier to 1.12mb/d. While, crude oil imports from Iran in November climbed 24.48% year-on-year to 611,338b/d, with imports from Iraq rising by 15.68% to 695,148b/d, informed RW Freight.

Moreover, with over 873,000b/d, Saudi Arabia re-emerged as the top oil supplier to India during November replacing Iran. Iraq was the second biggest oil supplier to India, Hellenic Shipping News wrote. Overall, India boosted imports from the Middle East in January-November, with the region supplying about two-thirds of its imports, up from around 58% last year.

This came before members the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other global producers agreed to cut output in a bid to bolster weak oil prices. Iran, an OPEC country, had been initially hesitant to cut production, but as Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest producer, agreed to bear the lion’s share of reductions, the landmark deal was agreed at the end of November.