On October 24, 2025, the official journal of the European Union revealed that the EU had added two Chinese oil refineries with a combined total capacity of 600,000 barrels per day and the trading department of PetroChina, China’s Oil and Gas Corporation, to its sanction list against Russia.
These two refineries are Liaoyang Petrochemical and Shandong Yulong Petrochemical, with a total capacity of 600,000 barrels per day, accounting for 3% of China’s total daily production capacity.
The EU officially approved the 19th round of sanctions against Russia on Thursday. This is not the first time the EU has included Chinese entities on the sanction list, but the economic impact of this round of sanctions is more profound.
The EU is working jointly with the Group of Seven (G7) to squeeze the crucial oil and gas revenue, further depleting Russia’s ability to fund the war in Ukraine.
The EU also added China’s Tianjin Xishan Fusheng International Trading Company to the list, stating that the company played a significant role in evading sanctions in Russia. The EU stated, “The company has exported goods originating from the EU to Russian entities, which are prohibited from being directly exported from the EU to Russia.”
A spokesperson from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce expressed “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition” to the EU’s sanctions against Chinese entities on Thursday.
Reuters contacted PetroChina, Yulong Petrochemical, Liaoyang Petrochemical, and Xishan Fusheng for comment, but they did not respond immediately.
The EU stated that these three oil-related companies are significant buyers of Russian crude oil, providing Moscow with “substantial sources of income.”
Meanwhile, China Oil (Hong Kong) Limited, as the trading department of PetroChina, plays a crucial role in crude oil transactions and has been identified by the EU as playing an important role in assisting Russia in obtaining fuel revenue.
Yulong Petrochemical is China’s newest refinery with a daily capacity of 400,000 barrels and is one of the largest single customers for Russian oil in China. Due to the sanctions imposed by the UK last week on the refinery, several of Yulong’s crude oil suppliers have already canceled orders for Middle Eastern and Canadian oil. The EU journal stated that the refinery had purchased millions of barrels of Russian ESPO (East Siberia-Pacific Ocean) and Urals grade crude oil.
Liaoyang Petrochemical, located in northeastern China, has a daily capacity of 200,000 barrels and is a comprehensive enterprise integrating refining and petrochemical businesses, also considered a significant buyer of Russian crude oil.
In addition to Chinese entities, the 19th round of sanctions also includes the ban on importing Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), more restrictions on Russia’s “shadow tanker fleet,” as well as measures targeting Russian banks and third-country entities in India and Thailand related to sanctions evasion.