Chinese oil imports from Russia jumped 16 percent year-on-year in October, second only to Beijing's top supplier Saudi Arabia, as state companies seek .
To fill warehouses before a European embargo on Russian oil due to the crisis in Ukraine.
Data from China's General Administration of Customs on Sunday showed supplies from Russia, including those pumped through the East Siberian Pacific pipeline and cargoes transported
The volumes, equivalent to 1. 82 million bpd, were little changed from imports in September, but fell from May's record high of around 2 million bpd
Chinese state-run companies, including Unepec, China Oil and Zhenhua Oil, have stepped up imports of Russian Ural crude, which is mostly loaded from European ports.
In recent weeks ahead of the impending EU sanctions and amid uncertainty over the Group of Seven plan to cap Russian oil prices.
Saudi shipments rose 12 percent year-on-year to 7.93 million tonnes, or 1.87 million bpd, from 1.83 million bpd in September.
Since the beginning of the year, Saudi Arabia remained China's largest supplier with volumes of 73.76 million tonnes, unchanged year-on-year.
Russian supplies from January to October increased 9.5 percent year-on-year to 71.97 million tonnes, boosted by refiners' continued appetite for discounted oil.
Imports from Malaysia, which for the past two years have been a transit point for shipments from Iran and Venezuela, nearly doubled year-on-year to 3. 52 million tonnes.
