In Russia, ESPO oil price for China exceeded $120 per barrel — The Moscow Times
In Russia, the price of ESPO crude supplied to China exceeded $120 per barrel this week. This was reported by The Moscow Times, citing Reuters, trading sources and market data.
China’s early purchases
Chinese state-owned refining companies began booking ESPO cargoes for delivery in November and December in advance. This grade is usually purchased one or two months before delivery, as the sea shipping distance to China is short.
Active purchases pushed the ESPO premium to the ICE Brent benchmark to a record $20–30 per barrel. ESPO is a light, low-sulfur Siberian crude oil mainly exported through the port of Kozmino in Russia’s Far East. China is the main importer of this grade, as well as Russian Arctic and Sakhalin oil.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Supply disruptions
The publication links the rise in premiums to disruptions in oil supplies from the Middle East. Last week, Saudi Arabia halted operations on an important oil pipeline after saying it had been attacked by drones launched by militants in Iraq. According to the publication, this route was used to export oil while bypassing the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
A similar increase in the price of Russian Urals oil occurred in March and April 2026 after the United States and Israel began attacks on Iran. During the first closure of the Strait of Hormuz in spring, the price of Urals exceeded $110 per barrel, but fell in summer after alternative shipping routes emerged and Chinese refineries used domestic stocks.
According to Argus data cited by the Kommersant newspaper, Urals delivered to India and China cost $110–120 per barrel last week. At the same time, Russia’s weekly revenue from seaborne oil exports reached $2.42 billion, the highest level since late May, Bloomberg reported, citing tanker-tracking data.
