Global Crude Oil Shipments in 2025: Trends and Export Changes

According to LSEG vessel tracking data, global crude oil shipments increased modestly by 0,4 % in 2024, reaching 2 194,6 million tons, excluding all cabotage shipments. However, the beginning of 2025 was even worse, with global shipments from January to April 2025 declining by 1,0 % to 728,2 million tons compared to the same period the previous year.

Exports

In its latest report, Branchero Costa noted that oil shipments from the Persian Gulf decreased by 2,5 % to 285,1 million tons in the first four months of 2025, accounting for 39,2 % of total maritime crude oil trade.

Crude oil exports from Russian ports (including Kazakh-origin crude) also fell by 13,5 % to 69,1 million tons (or 9,5 % of global trade) during the same period. In contrast, crude oil exports from South America increased by 4,8 % to 70,6 million tons, representing a 9,7 % share.

US oil exports decreased by 8,8 % year-on-year to 60,9 million tons (with a share of 8,4 %). Shipments from Southeast Asia, on the other hand, rose by 9,8 % to 48,5 million tons.

Demand

The largest maritime importer of crude oil from January to April 2025 was mainland China, which accounted for 22,9 % of global trade. China’s crude oil purchases during this period decreased by 4,2 % to 163,2 million tons.

Imports from European Union countries fell by 10,5 % to 143,8 million tons, making up 20,1 % of global trade. Shipments to ASEAN countries decreased by 3,1 % to 87,1 million tons.

India’s oil purchases increased by 3,7 % to 81,6 million tons in the first four months of 2025. Currently, mainland China is the largest importer of crude oil, slightly ahead of the EU.

In 2023, China imported 514,9 million tons of maritime crude oil, excluding cabotage, according to Refinitiv vessel tracking data. This was a 14,2 % increase compared to the same period in 2022, which saw 450,9 million tons. In 2024, China’s oil imports slightly adjusted downwards by 0,6 % to 511,8 million tons.

For the first four months of 2025, crude oil imports into China decreased by 4,2 % to 163,2 million tons (for comparison, imports during the same period in 2024 were 170.3 million tons, and in the first four months of 2023, they were 162,1 million tons).

Approximately 85 % of the oil shipped to China in 2024 was transported on VLCC tankers, about 3 % on Suezmax tankers, and around 11 % on Aframax tankers.

Saudi Arabia became the largest exporter of oil to China from January to April 2025, accounting for 16,4 % of imports. During this period, China imported 26,8 million tons of crude oil from the country, which is 5,6 % more than in the same period last year.

During the same period, imports from Iraq to China increased by 7,9 % to 22,4 million tons, while imports from Kuwait rose by 35,5 % to 5,5 million tons. Volumes from the UAE to China decreased by 16,4 % to 9,8 million tons, and from Oman by 15,3 % to 12,2 million tons.

In the first four months of 2025, direct supplies from Russia fell by 32,7 % to 12,5 million tons. Russia now accounts for only 7,6 % of the total maritime crude oil imports into China.

During the same period, imports from ASEAN countries decreased by 17,2 % to 15,5 million tons, and from South America by 8,9 % to 15,1 million tons (of which 12,1 million tons were from Brazil).